It's a long story
by The Seller of Dreams
Summary: When Sakura, Syaoran, Tomoyo & Eriol are all forced into arranged marriages by their parents, they all escape to the humble town of Tomoeda- where they'll find friendship, happiness- and discover how twisted fate can truly be...
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note- I have a feeling that this'll be an extremely long fanfic. But not to worry- hopefully I'll write well enough for it to be interesting. I have a plot ready, though. This is my first fanfic, and I hope that it's good. Thanks for reading!

The Beginning :Arranged Marriages

'You are not going to do this to me.'

'How can you be so sure?'

Cloudy, light-blue eyes which gave off an angelic impression met intensely dark, sapphire ones.

Hiragizawa Eriol was the unwanted son of business tycoon Hiragizawa Takaya.

Takaya smiled triumphantly, his light blue eyes gleaming – much like a shark's. 'You'll meet your fiancé in a week. Don't even bother trying to scare her off. Your wedding will be held in 6 months, regardless of what happens.'

He narrowed his eyes in an unspoken challenge. 'Try me'.

There was an awkward silence after this.

'Then', said Eriol calmly, 'I believe that there's nothing else I have to say to you,…' He turned to go, and headed for the massive double doors- he had always hated those doors- why would anyone want doors like that, just leading from one room to another?

Just before the doors, he stopped and turned around, and added a last, parting sting. '…Takaya.'

'But…dad…Why?' Kinomoto Sakura stared pleadingly up at her father- her kind father, even though he was the CEO of one of the wealthiest businesses in Japan.

'Dad, why?' Sakura repeated. She had always been so sure that her father would allow her to choose her own future, unlike some of the stories she had heard about; wealthy parents forcing their children into arranged marriages…

Her father stared down at her stonily, so unlike the father she knew. 'Because, Sakura, you're nearly an adult- 17 years old. You need to have your future ready for you. And besides' here, his eyes grew colder, if that were possible 'you've already scared away every boy I told you who was suitable. You chose to reject the choices I gave you. So now, you have no choice.'

Sakura glared up at the man she had once recognised as her father, and her eyes hardened. So this was it. The life she had once thought she would have was truly gone. Sometimes, she wondered what it why people envied wealthy people so much. 'It's because of the money,' she thought bitterly, 'people like money- because the world is just about money. Money, money, money.'

'Well, I think I'll be going now. I have homework I have to finish.'

Fujitaka nodded, his cold eyes never leaving Sakura as she walked stiffly to the door and out. He looked away from the door, minutes after she had left.

If only he had known that he wouldn't be seeing her as soon as he thought.

'I expect you to meet your fiancé in 3 days. No excuses.' The austere woman ordered. 'You are dismissed.'

Tomoyo nodded once ,and only once as she had been taught after several beatings. _'Energy should not be wasted. Superfluous actions make the present company consider you to be a fool'._

It had been like this since she could remember. Her mother yelling, screaming, beating her, and she, cowering, merely wishing that this nightmare would end as soon as possible, and with minimal bruises received.

Now, her mother had arranged for her to be in an arranged marriage. With somebody that she had never heard of.

'An arranged marriage', Tomoyo muttered. 'You've got to be kidding me.' She headed into her room and sat down to begin the homework set by her teacher. But she couldn't concentrate on the papers, the words tonight. Her mind kept on circling back to her mother's words. 'Arranged marriage…no excuses…marriage…'

'ARRGHH!' She threw down her pen in frustration. If only…she could…escape?

Escape.

A wicked smile played across her lips, and she quietly got up and began to pack her school bag. But not with books.

Far from it.

The eyes that yet again stared defiantly at the dark brown ones were curious ones. They would be a light, warm amber when he was happy, a dull, heavy mix of brown and amber in usual life, and finally, a dark, nearly black shade when he was mad.

His eyes were nearly black.

Li Syaoran stared at his mother, not believing what he had just heard. An arranged marriage? No no… He had always know that his mother was not in the norm, but an arranged marriage? And he wasn't even twenty yet!

'Mother, you must be joking,' he said lightly, attempting to get an agreement out of her. None came.

'Syaoran, you are 18 years old- and you haven't even dated one girl yet! When you were 16, I told you that the Elders were willing to allow you to choose your own wife, as long as she was both acceptable and decent. They have withdrawn that offer now. You have an arranged marriage.'

Syaoran narrowed his eyes. He would not play their games and get married just because they wanted him to.

They'd have to do better than simply asking. Or ordering, as was their custom.

Syaoran stomped up to his room, glaring at the portraits of his relatives, 'all looking dead' as he called it. They all seemed to glare at him, their eyes going 'obey, obey, obey…'

He shivered. The Li clan did that to you. Made you want to scream and rip your hair out your own head. And once all your hair was gone, you'd move onto someone else's.

He sighed before entering his room and plopping onto his bed with a sigh. Stupid mother. Stupid Elders. Stupid Clan.

'Idiots.' Syaoran muttered under his breath. He'd accept an arranged marriage when his mother wore jeans. 'Heh, I wonder what they'd be like if I ran away… Probably get another heir… If I ran away…I'd probably go to somewhere where they wouldn't expect…probably rent an apartment…that sounds so easy…'

He shot up from his bed. A grin finally graced his face after so long a drought.

'It _is_ easy.'

Author's Note- So how has it been so far? Please don't shoot me for making all their parents so mean=D But I had to, to make it plausible. I'm gonna include lotsa twists in this story…Just so that it'll go for a lot of chapters. Don't you like stories which go on for a long time? But that's just me =D Review if you want to, and thank you if you do. All comments cherished! (as Wish-chan would say- read her New Trials, by the way. O_O I think that rhymed…)


	2. Escaping to a new world

Author's Note: To CLAMP, I am SO SO SO SO SO sorry. The fact that I had to acknowledge you went flying out of my head and got happily hit by a helicopter. Very sorry. So basically, I don't own anything- but the plot, and any characters that I introduce do =D Hope you enjoy! And thank you for the 2 reviewers and people who added me to their favourite's list. It made me very happy =D

'Ah ha ha ha ha haaaaa!' laughed Tomoyo manically, the sheer madness from being caged so long by her mother emanating from any available place.

In her mind.

Of course, even in the frenzy that Tomoyo was couldn't make her lose her wits. Sure, she wasn't quite part of the normal world at the current moment, but laughing like an escaped lunatic had a 99.9999% chance of her plans being ruined.

What plans? Oh, nothing but a simple plan to get the hell out of the house, of course.

Because Tomoyo had taken enough of this life.

Tomoyo raced around her room, throwing all her worldly possessions into her bag as quickly as possible. An album of her happiest memories, clothes, a large, large wad of cash and a credit card which she had secretly connected to her mother's bank account all were found and hastily stuffed into the large schoolbag. Finding that it was already full, Tomoyo sighed and pulled out a pull-along case, before adding the things she could never leave. An old, stuffed, bunny rabbit and a necklace- one that her mother had told her to throw away- were gently picked up and put in the case. The last 2 gifts she had from her father- the rest were all either burnt or long gone to somewhere she had once called 'The Toy's Heaven'.

After changing into casual clothes (that she had smuggled from the mall), Tomoyo checked the hallway. No one was there- once again, her mother had rushed off to a business meeting without even bothering to inform her daughter. But that didn't really bother Tomoyo- after so many years she simply brushed it off, knowing that it meant that her mother did not suspect anything from her.

Dragging her suitcase down the long hallway, the stairs and out of the front door and gates was terrible. Cringing at each squeak (damn, she knew she should've oiled the wheels when she had the chance), Tomoyo walked out the massive front gates. Come to think about, she had never walked out of these gates- she had always been driven. But never mind about that now- did it really matter?

But where to? Tomoyo's brain ran through the list of towns that she had memorised off by heart- months- perhaps years- had led up to this day. She's known since the age of 13 that she would need to escape from her mother- get away from the person who would never accept her as the person she was.

'But where are you going?' Tomoyo mumbled under her breath. What was the name of that town again? She had felt…a vibe- so corny, she knew- but a vibe, when she had read that name. Something was drawing her to that town. Tomoeda, she now remembered, that's what it was called.

But Tomoyo had spent too much of her life following her 'true road'. She wasn't going to go somewhere because she felt a 'vibe'. No, for once in her life, she would be stubborn. Tomoyo was simply going to go somewhere else. How about…hmm…Hikoshi- yes, that was good. She would go to Hikoshi.

Damn did it feel good to rebel.

Tomoyo hailed a cab, being sure to pull the sports cap she had on her head down low. 'Hikoshi' she ordered, or more like muttered while trying to order. Missing the quizzical look that the taxi driver shot her, Tomoyo sank down into the cheap leather seats, and looked back at the mansion which was slowly fading from her view. She had done it- really left her home, and her mother. Tomoyo bit back the smile, and swallowed the maniacal laughter to ask the driver, 'How long?'

'An hour or so.'

'I see.' Tomoyo closed her eyes to rest, before snapping them back open when a second thought came into her mind. 'Thank you.'

*An Hour later*

'Miss…Miss!'

Tomoyo yawned, half-opened her eyes drearily, before fully snapping her eyes open. She was…here. Hikoshi…She looked around in disbelief, before going back to her senses and asking, 'So is this it?'

She watched as the taxi driver twiddled his thumbs uncomfortably and narrowed her eyes. What had he done? Phoned her mother?

'What have you done?' This came out harsher than she expected.

'Well…you see…I kind of got lost. And we're not…in Hikoshi.'

Tomoyo sighed, wondering if fate really was that twisted, 'Then where ARE we?'

The taxi driver faltered before the lavender eyed girl's glare, 'T-tomoeda.' He waited for her reply.

She stood up, brushing off her cargo pants and jacket, before taking her suitcase and bag. 'Well then- I suppose that I'll be going now- how much do I have to pay you?'

The taxi driver sighed, wondering if it were worth it to make the sacrifice he was going to make, 'You don't have to pay me at all…'

They stared at each other, before Tomoyo held out her hand, 'Thank you.'

The taxi driver stared at it before shaking it, 'Good luck.' He got into the taxi, before driving away- in his many years after, he never stopped wondering what her name was, though. What was her name? He had never asked. And he would probably never know.

Tomoyo stared after the taxi. Her first encounter with the real world. Was that what the world was like? She sighed again- she seemed to be sighing a lot lately. Tomoyo began to walk towards the town. So this was Tomoeda- she guessed that perhaps that she couldn't avoid fate's all-powerful might.

'After all, I'm just a person- won't be changing anything in the course of nature,' she walked on, down the pavement, 'insignificant me…'

'Stupid father. Thinks he's gonna make me accept an arranged marriage…' Sakura glared up at the wall defiantly, 'well he's WRONG!' She shouted the last word, making it echo off the lushly decorated walls of her bedroom. Pink, pink and more pink. It wasn't that she didn't like it- but surely it was excess- it truly was. Pink bed, pink carpet, pink desk, pink wardrobe, pink clock- every where she looked…it was enough to make the biggest lover of pink die…in disgust.

'But…'she sighed to herself, 'he's gonna make me do it, I know he will…'

She rolled over to her side on her repulsively pink bed. 'Mum wouldn't have made me do it.'

Kinomoto Nadeshiko had died when Sakura was only 3. It had been a long time ago, but Sakura remembered it all- her mother's face, her mother's touch, her voice. Sakura also remembered her mother's last words to her…

'_Sakura, Mummy is going to go now. I'll always be there- don't worry. And remember to follow your heart.' _

Her mother had died moments later.

Sakura sighed. 'Mom, I'm sorry I didn't listen to you- I haven't followed my heart. Dad's been a' she gulped 'moron. But I think I'll listen to my heart now.'

The light breeze that came through her open window seemed to cool Sakura's mind and help set her resolve.

*10 minutes later*

'I'd quote "The Merchant of Venice" _dad_, but I think that Shakespeare isn't my style.' Sakura smirked as she looked at her messily packed suitcase. 'You're going to lose a daughter.'(A/N: In 'The Merchant of Venice', Jessica, daughter of Shylock, says that when she's gonna run away from him. =D I'm doing it in class...)

Sakura picked up the just printed pages containing information about the towns in Japan. So far, the only one that seemed to stand out to her was one called Tomoeda. Apparently, it was a 1 hour drive from here, and a 3 hour bicycle ride.

'Three hours,' thought Sakura, 'I can handle that'.

Slipping out into the Kinomoto family's massive garage, she took her mountain bike from its hiding spot before securing her bags to the bicycle. She'd have to take some longer routes around the major roads so that no one would see her.

'Ah well,' mumbled Sakura to herself, 'At least I'll be outta here…' She hopped onto her bike. 'Time to go.'

*Around 3 hours later*

'Man, my legs are really starting to kill now…' wailed Sakura. She didn't bother to internalise it- after all, she was on some remote country path, and nobody was around. Sakura puffed some more, before deciding to stop for a rest. She collapsed on the soft grass, and mumbled curses under her breath about this whole damn ordeal, while massaging her cramped leg muscles.

After a while, she noticed the quiet atmosphere. It was so…quiet. You couldn't hear anything, apart from birds and animals… Sakura suddenly started, noticing that it was morning…that was strange, considering that it was night time when she had left. That meant that…

'Woooooowwwwwwwwww….' Obviously, she had been cycling very slow. Oh, how she was ashamed of herself.

Sakura got up, stretched, and got back onto her bicycle. With luck, she'd soon make it to the town, and find that apartment that she had rented online… Hopefully, it wasn't some messed up apartment.

She began to cycle again. Twenty minutes passed, and she sighted a town. It looked like a very nice town, with modern apartments, some houses and lots of trees. Sakura reached the gates, and cycled in. True to her predictions, it was a town with a warm feeling. Nodding in approval at the many cherry blossom trees, Sakura headed to the Apartment Rentals Agency, where she picked up her keys and directions to her apartment.

Sakura walked to her apartment, not looking up from the piece of paper which held her directions.

'Turn left…take the right path…turn left…turn ri-OMMPH' Sakura crashed into something, or someone who grunted, but unlike her regained his/her balance.

Wincing in pain, Sakura noticed a hand stuck in front of her face, and looked up to see a pair of warm amber brown eyes. 'Oh…thank you.' She heaved herself up with the help of the boy's strong hand. Sakura looked down while she brushed herself off, before looking back up to thank the boy once more but…he had gone.

'Eh?' Sakura scratched her head quizzically, than shrugged. 'Weird guy…nice though…but weird.'

She hesitated for a while, feeling the warmth of the sun and thinking, before realising that the few passersby were shooting her strange looks that clearly said, 'What the heck are you doing?'

Sakura laughed nervously, and continued walking towards her apartment. She was nearly there- that friendly-looking apartment. Feeling reassured that her apartment wouldn't be a dump; she walked faster, silently promising her feet a nice long soak in hot water.

It was good to know that her escape wasn't that bad after all.

Author's Note: So how is it? Hope it's not confusing or anything- but if it is, please tell me. I'd like to make it a good story =D Please review if you want to, and many thanks if you do. For all of you, enjoy!


	3. Motorbikes and Walking

Author's Note: Hope this chapter is good, and thanks for reading! I don't own Card captor Sakura, its characters . However, I do own this plot, and any other characters I introduce =D Enjoy the story! Ohhh…and thank you to my reviewers =D By the way, what's a hit on a story?

Eriol stepped into his room, a room that looked as if it were some CEO's, rather than a mere 18 year old's. He let the heavy, oak door shut behind him, before finally letting himself show the fury that had been bubbling up inside him all the while of his *ahem* _father's _speech.

Did that man, Hiragizawa Takaya, seriously think that he, Hiragizawa Eriol would be roped into doing this? Eriol had always known that his father was a control freak. His mother had never really cared about him, preferring to drape herself in jewels and attending stiffly formal parties, where power and wealth were a person's rank. So really, Eriol wasn't surprised.

But that didn't mean that he wasn't going to put up a fight.

'Obviously,' muttered Eriol to himself, 'I'm not gonna storm up to him and yell at him… can't try to force him… subterfuge? Hmmm….'

Eriol shot up and whacked himself on the head for even considering the idea. Subterfuge? What on earth was he thinking?

No. If he was going to get out of this, he'd have to do something a tad more drastic than hacking into his father's computers…

He walked over to his wardrobe and pulled out a large suitcase and rucksack. He'd need them, decided Eriol, if he was even going to have a decent chance in this plan.

Eriol began with clothes- obviously, he'd need proper clothing. Next came a thin blanket, some books that were childhood favourites, and the money from his secret stash, which were all carefully laid down in the suitcase.

A few minutes later, Eriol was done- his suitcase packed, and his rucksack full. Quietly, he crept down to the gardens, luggage in tow, until he reached the secret hole in the garden wall that he had discovered, years ago. Smirking, Eriol pulled away the branches of ivy that covered it, before ducking through and carelessly pulling the branches back over the hole again. There was no need to careful, after all…

'_Eriol, I would like to talk to you about something.' His father tried to look as fatherly as possible, and had even opted to taking his son on a walk through the gardens for this very purpose. Without stopping to wait for Eriol's answer, he ploughed on. 'Those friends of yours…those,' a look of disgust came over his face, 'those ruffians who you play with: Takashi, Yukiro and…that lot, am I correct?' _

_Fearfully, the young boy with large sapphire eyes looked up at his father and nodded. What was his father going to do now? _

_He didn't have to wait long._

'_Eriol, those boys are not fit to be your…acquaintances. You deserve friends of higher status. Who knows if those boys are only befriending you for your money? The power you'll have when you're older? They're using you, Eriol!' _

_Slowly, Eriol nodded. He understood his father's words. Those boys- they had pretended to be his friends, played with him, sympathised with him- all for his money! _

'_Yes father, I understand. Those boys are only using me.' _

_His father's eyes gleamed, a gleam that Eriol would learn in the years to come that it meant no good. 'Good boy, Eriol.'_

_In his excitement that his father had finally praised him, Eriol was eager to please. Pointing wildly ahead, he planned to show his father the little passage that he had found yesterday, when he had been playing in the gardens. 'Father! Father! Look, I found a tunnel in the walls! Come see!' _

_Too happy in his insecure world, the little boy didn't notice his father's eyes narrow as he followed his son down the path to a little patch in the wall where the ivy vines grew particularly thickly. 'Here!', laughed Eriol, wading through the beds of meticulous flowers to the wall. 'Look!' Eriol pulled aside the curtain of ivy, revealing a large hole in the wall. _

_Eriol watched eagerly as his father bent down and peered scrutinisingly at the wall, and waited to for his father's verdict- possibly more praise. When his father spoke, he surprised him with his cold tone. 'Come here, Eriol.' _

_Obediently, Eriol waded back to his father and stood beside him. His father slowly rose to his full height, and then- _

_Slap! _

_Eriol was knocked to ground with a smarting cheek. Gasping, he stared up at his father, wondering what he could have done wrong this time- after all, if hadn't been him who'd made that hole…_

'_Is this some kind of prank of yours, Eriol? I do not talk pranks well- you know that.' _

_Eriol looked questioningly at his father with wide sapphire eyes- eyes that his father had hated from the very moment he had looked into those deep, clear eyes, eyes too old, mature and intelligent for a mere child- a baby! 'But father, there is a hole in the wall. I found it yesterday…'_

_His father's eyes grew even colder, if that were possible. 'Do you still try to fool around, Eriol? There is no hole there. Let me hear no more of this nonsense. This proves that you have not been paying attention to your studies- playing in the garden, when you were meant to be studying!' _

_Roughly, he took his son's arm and dragged him cruelly back to the large, luxurious mansion, where he threw his son into his room and locked him in there. _

_But Eriol now knew there was a way out. _

Now, Eriol's eyes filled in pain. He had stayed in that room for 3 days.

Eriol had always donated to any charity when he could. After all, experience stayed with him for a very long time.

Eriol sighed. He'd have to take his backup plan after all- only now did he realise that he couldn't take a taxi when there was a chance that his father would be looking for him…with a reward.

So he'd have to take the motorbike then.

Clambering onto the punk bike which was kept in kept in a park and actually chained to the ground to stop it from getting stolen - Eriol fixed his luggage to his bike, slotted the helmet onto his head, and zoomed away. He knew exactly where to go, of course. He would never go running away from his father without a plan, complete with contingency plans, and contingency plans for the contingency plans.

He was going to the humble town of Tomoeda.

*An hour later*

'Oh my GOOOODDDDDDD!' Eriol toppled off his motorbike, cursing the pains that consumed him after spending so long on the seat.

On the flip side, though- he was there. The humble town of Tomoeda, with its (perhaps too simple) buildings, and many bushy trees, Eriol cast an appraising eye over it and…

Laughed like the world would end tomorrow.

That was the place he wanted to live in- a place where houses didn't gleam, and dirt could actually be seen.

Slowly, he trudged towards the town, motorbike in tow. As tired as he was, there was absolutely no way that he would get back onto that bike.

Soon, Eriol made it to the town, before trudging to the nearest park bench and collapsing on it. Ohhh…it was so good to sit on something other than a sterilised chair or a motorbike seat.

Just then, a girl in a cap passed by, wheeling a suitcase and wearing a backpack- just like him. Eriol sat up, not knowing why. That girl…why did he feel something about her? As if the girl had felt the boy's stare, the girl looked around cautiously, her eyes landing on Eriol. They seemed to linger just a second longer, before sweeping on. Seemingly satisfied that it was nothing, she continued on her journey, leaving Eriol staring after her with a weird expression on his face.

Eriol shrugged it off, and decided to find his apartment. Surely it couldn't be too far from here. Sure enough, after getting up and walking a few more minutes, Eriol saw an apartment which matched the description that had come with the email which had been sent by the apartment rental company to confirm his apartment. 'Tall, yellow and happy looking,' the email had said, 'you can't miss it!' Eriol had almost snorted back then, but now… That apartment really did look happy.

He walked up to the door, before realising that he didn't have a key. Damn! Why on earth had he not gone to get his key? He turned to go, but something held him back. Eriol's hand instantly went to the queer key- like object that he wore on a length of black ribbon around his neck. He had found it when he was 8 years old…it had been in the grass- just like that- and his father never saw it- just like the hole in the wall… It had bothered him, of course, that his father couldn't see it- not that he regretted it, of course. But why couldn't his father see it? There was something about the key, with its sun symbol on top.

But now, the key was…floating? It was tugging, pulling towards the key hole. Reluctantly, Eriol stepped forward and allowed the key to slot perfectly into the hole and turn, unlocking the outer door to the apartment.

Eriol's mouth dropped. '_Ok….'_

And with a deep breath, he stepped into the apartment, luggage and all.

Syaoran fumed as he viciously tossed items of clothing and other necessities into his open suitcase. Carefully folding each particle of clothing and neatly stacking them up had never been his forte, and soon, he was reduced to sitting on his suitcase to shut it and zip it up.

Capacious amounts of chocolate were swiftly packed away, taken from Syaoran's own personal store of chocolate. He had to take chocolate…it was…food.

Syaoran sat on his bed, deep in thought. Was there anything that he had missed? No…clothes, a pillow, water…chocolate, money…had he brought enough chocolate? Perhaps just a few more bars…

He shook himself. No, no more chocolate. He could barely carry his luggage as it was now; let along carry a few more kilograms of chocolate. Which reminded him, he had to get going if he were to reach that town- what was its name again- Tomoeda by night time. He didn't want to stay another night in his home, a close version of a fully-fledged palace.

Syaoran quickly ran outside to the walls which surrounded his mansion *ahem* house, and threw his bag over the wall, praying that if anything, the chocolate wasn't dead. He quickly swung himself over the wall after his bag (A/N: Please note that this guy's been through Li Clan nightmare training…he's able to do this kind of stuff, even if the walls are freakishly high =D), and landed perfectly on the ground.

How was he going to get there? He had no bicycle, no motorbike and he definitely didn't want to take a taxi for obvious reasons. But he had gotten out already. So all he had to do was walk the distance (A/N: Once again, that's very implausible- very sorry =D…but I wanted to post this up today, and just decided to make Syaoran super strong, and able to walk a ridiculous distance in a ridiculous time) and he'd be there.

And he began to walk…

And walk…

And walk…

*3 hours later *

Syaoran was in pain. After all, who wouldn't be after walking for 5 hours straight? But he wasn't an ordinary boy by any standards- and he just kept on walking…

Syaoran's persistence paid off, and soon enough, he had reached the town. Though he would never admit it, his taste was slightly aristocratic, and even to him (a self-proclaimed rebel to aristocracy), the town seemed plain. But it had charm…a warm kind of charm…

Walking through the town, he spotted an apartment rental agency and quickly headed over. It'd be good to get a home which was nice and comfy, unlike the luxurious yet cold mansion he had lived in.

After 10 minutes of discussion (Syaoran had quickly cowed them with his glare, and thus, a deal had been settled quite quickly…), Syaoran walked out with keys in his hand, and began to his short journey to his new home. Finally, he let himself relax slightly from his usual tense self. It was a beautiful day, he realised, and he was free. Certainly that was a cause to be happy.

Lost in his happy thoughts, Syaoran walked down the pavement, not quite paying attention to where he was walking, which was why…

'Owww!' he heard somebody squeal and looked down to see a girl on the pavement wincing in pain. She had short, honey brown hair- he noticed- and emerald, sparkling emerald eyes…

Remembering his manners, Syaoran politely stuck his hand in front of her face, offering a hand up. She took it, and he hefted her up before quickly walking away, not wanting to talk in case he lost his wits.

Besides, his feet ached.

Syaoran sped up and reached the apartment in less than a minute. Unlocking the door hastily, he raced up the stairs, bag in tow, and walked to his room before unlocking it.

Sighing in contentment, he walked in, ready to toss his things on the ground and go to sleep, probably on the ground too.

But Syaoran froze, not doing any of those things.

Because it seemed that the apartment was already occupied.

Author's Note: So how do you like it now? Hope my writing is up to par =D, as I have mentioned before- I wanna complete it soon and post it. If you have any queries about some really random aspect I've included in my story, please ask =D I'd like to make this a good story. Also, if you don't like how I'm juggling all the times and the characters- don't worry. It's gonna end soon, because they're all going to meet so there will more or less be one time. Review if you like, and thank you if you do. Thank you to those who have reviewed (not many of them =D, but I still appreciate it a lot).


	4. The opening of doors

Author's Note: I hope that this story's good- because as I'm reading over it, I have a feeling that there are places which are incredibly implausible/poorly written, and generally not good. But I wanted to upload it soon, so that I could see it actually appearing to the public (it takes 30 minutes to load .). Ah well…Thank you to my reviewers btw. They make me happy =D Oh, and I don't own Card captor Sakura, its characters and etc. However, I do own this plot line and any additional characters I create =D Enjoy!

Tomoyo's P.O.V

Tomoyo slowly walked down the pavement to her apartment, having already collected her key. But her thoughts were far from the apartment; rather, they were on that boy…Who was he? Why had she felt a link to him, too? Tomoyo hated feeling connected to anybody- she was independent, and could work alone- as her mother had taught her too well. Tomoyo hated the people who would manipulate people for their own needs- but him…he had felt different- a lot like the town… 'Tomoeda'…Tomoyo felt a scowl, or rather, a pout form on her lips- the town to which she had been made, by some bizarre twist of fate, to come to.

Banishing the murderous thoughts which were totally out of alignment with her character, Tomoyo turned her thoughts to more positive ones. It was a great day, in more than the physical aspect. She had escaped, and not only that, she had escaped successfully. Now feeling much happier, Tomoyo sped up her walk, and quickly reached the door of the apartment before unlocking it and walking up the stairs with her luggage bumping after her. The first floor, the second floor, third floor…where was her room again? She pulled out the piece of paper with her room number and floor, and realised that it was on the 6th floor…three more floors to go.

Finally, Tomoyo made it to her room, nodding in approval as she noticed the neat line of lights leading down the hallway, and the clean carpet. At least this wasn't one of those apartments where people drew on the walls and banged on the walls. She dragged her luggage across to her room which was at the very end of the apartment and unlocked the door. Cautiously, she opened the door- after all; you could never truly trust anybody in the world- you just had to be alert and careful. To her relief, nobody came leaping out at her from the shadows. Instead, Tomoyo opened the door to reveal a wide, spacious apartment room- one quite a bit larger than normal. But that was fine with Tomoyo. She stepped in and dropped her luggage in the middle of the room, sighing in contentment as she breathed in the smell of air that wasn't tainted by countless perfumes.

Deciding to explore her new home, Tomoyo kicked off her shoes by the door, and walked into the hallway leading away from the large living room. There was a kitchen (that led off from the living room directly) and 2 bedrooms ('Why would there be two when I specifically booked only one?' she pondered), and one bathroom. Walking into the bedroom that she was currently peeking into, Tomoyo smiled at the white and purple theme of the bedroom. She liked this room, it was…calming. Flopping onto the soft bed, Tomoyo sighted in happiness- she finally felt safe.

And just as she thought that, there was the sound of a key turning in the lock.

Sitting bolt upright, Tomoyo felt her heart nearly die from the shock (A/N: Have you ever had that? I have, and it's almost painful when it happens O_O Sorry…Back to the story!). Her mother…but how? She had left absolutely no indication of where she had gone- she had even used the computers in the local library to do her research, as to be sure that if her mother was filtering the house internet system… Nobody knew…except for that taxi driver- but no. Tomoyo knew in her heart, that the taxi driver would never do that. Something about him had just struck her as being more truthful than others. But then…

'No,' muttered Tomoyo firmly to herself- she was too afraid to talk normally. 'Get a grip, Tomoyo. After all, if it's a woman, than chances are, that you'll be able to overpower her yourself. And if it's a man, than...' Tomoyo sighed. 'I'll just kick them…hard.' Despite her looks, Tomoyo had taken lessons (secret ones, of course) in karate, and as a blue belt, was quite adept at knocking people out when she wanted too. (A/N: As you all know, Black is the highest, than brown, and then blue- O_O, I think…)

Getting up from the bed, Tomoyo walked calmly to the living room. She could hear scuffling noises, and somebody walking around in the kitchen. Quickly peeking into the living room, she saw a new suitcase in the room. She frowned. Why would there be another person moving here? Surely she had rented an apartment to herself…

Tomoyo decided that the person was not much of a threat. After all, why would the person be? Whoever they were, they obviously weren't here with criminal intent. It had been a misunderstanding, and the person would go soon. Walking into the kitchen confidently, Tomoyo cleared her throat and began her hastily constructed speech, which was her way of politely telling this stranger to please get out of her kitchen or else all hell would break lose.

'Excuse me? He-lloooooo…Yes, you- I would like to know what you're doing in my kitchen, or more specifically, my apartment. You see, I don't remember renting an apartment which would be shared. I rented an apartment for myself. So if you please, get out before I make-'

Her mouth dropped open in horror.

The person, or more accurately, a rather handsome man was bending over the washing machine, which was included in the apartment. Tomoyo felt her eyes bulge out as she saw the young man half-naked.

He turned around.

Tomoyo's mouth dropped even further down, if that were even possible. It was the boy! It was him! A normal person would've been happy at this, taking this as a sign from heaven that they were meant to be. But Tomoyo was shocked. Horrified. Absolutely mortified that she would have walked in on someone who was undressing and putting his clothes in the washing machine.

And the very person who she had felt the 'vibe' for when she had first seen him.

Oh joyous day.

'Who are you?'

Tomoyo was started from her reverie of bemoaning her day, and tuned in to the man/boy's words. Who was SHE? Shouldn't SHE be one who was that question, not him?

Her angry mind took over.

'Excuse me, I was happily settling into my new home, when you came in and just began using…the washing machine. Now, I'm sure it's a mistake or something, but don't you think it's a bit rude to go and question somebody about their identity when you've just gatecrashed their own apartment?'

The man/boy sweat dropped. (A/N: I'm sorry! I don't know what to call Eriol. Is he a man or a boy? Ah well…I'm just gonna call him a man, ok? Sounds better than a boy, right...) 'You still haven't answered my question, you know.'

'Why should I?'

There was an awkward silence after this. Tomoyo wished there wasn't- it made her feel like it was her who had done something wrong…

Eriol sighed. 'Look, I'm sorry if I've just come in. But I was under the assumption that this was my apartment. For now, is it ok if I just stay here? It's nearly night time-'they both looked out the window to see the falling dusk '- and I don't want to be homeless for the night.'

The tension in the room fell. Just a bit, though.

Eriol tried one last stab to get on her good side. 'My name's Hiragizawa Eriol, by the way.'

Tomoyo smiled, or at least tried to smile. But her end product was more sincere than any of the smiles she had pasted on in her entire life with her mother. 'My name's Daidouji Tomoyo. Good to meet you.'

An awkward silence fell on the room.

Not liking the feeling, Eriol asked in a more or less friendly tone, 'what's wrong, Daidouji-san?'

Tomoyo raised an eyebrow at the honorific on her name, but it couldn't hide the furious red blush on her cheeks. 'C-could you please put on a shirt?' Mentally, she slapped herself. She, Daidouji Tomoyo, stuttering! Stuttering!

Over a boy, too.

Eriol's P.O.V

Now technically, I hadn't planned this at all. First, the key-like object that I had found when I was 8 years old broke me into an apartment, as well as my room. Secondly, why on earth hadn't I seen those suitcases already in the room when I arrived?

Sighing happily, Eriol had walked into the room and ditched his bags on the ground before heading to the kitchen where the washing machine was and stripping off his sweat soaked shirt. He had just been stuffing the shirt into the washing machine, when a cough sounded behind him, and a voice began reeling off some kind of speech, to which Eriol only paid half his attention too.

He didn't know what he had been thinking when he had asked 'Who are you?' in such a disrespectful tone, but somehow, he knew that this person, the owner of the voice, would only respect his true self, and not listen to any of his charmed words or such.

Funnily enough, it had eventually led to them calmly unpacking only some of their bags, after a compromise between them.

But just as the atmosphere in the room began to feel friendlier, the sound of a key turning in the door and the door opening to reveal a person rapidly dropped the friendliness of the room.

The stranger's eyes widened slightly. Obviously, he had been trained to not show his emotions- he was a warrior of some kind. But he was so young. The person stepped into the room cautiously. Eriol tensed, as did Tomoyo, as they both anticipated some kind of verbal attack from this formidable looking young man.

But instead…

'Why are you in my apartment?'

Everyone fell over, except for the now confused new comer.

Syaoran's P.O.V

This was so weird. I had just stepped into the room, expecting to be able to just flop onto the sofa and go to sleep. After all, it was almost night time, and I hadn't slept for a long time.

But instead, I walked into a boy and a girl, probably a couple or something, unpacking. Aww…young love- these two were already moving in to their own new home.

What could I say? I didn't want to sound too rude, but then, on the other hand, I was too tired to be polite. So I asked, 'Why are you in my apartment?'

To my extreme surprise, they fell over in shock. What on earth was happening?

The male, a dark-blue, almost black, haired man, stepped forward. 'Who are you?'

I narrowed my eyes. Shouldn't it be me who was asking that? 'My name is of no business to you. I ask again. Why are you here?'

I watched as the girl visibly twitched, as if she was holding back a lot of anger or something. Probably mad that her private time with her boyfriend had been interrupted. But then again, those lavender eyes did seem to smoulder with anger…maybe this girl wasn't so nice as she seemed…

Just as I was bracing myself for a rant from the girl, the man spoke again. 'My name is Hiragizawa Eriol. This here is Daidouji Tomoyo.'

This surprised me. Why had they introduced themselves too easily? They had struck me as a secretive type, really.

'Why don't we all sit down for some tea and talk this over?' This came from the girl, Daidouji Tomoyo. I nodded, and sat down, and out of the corner of my eye saw Hiragizawa Eriol do the same.

There was an awkward silence in the room.

'Do you mind sharing your name with me? It would be a lot easier to communicate with you while using your name, rather than "you" or something.'

I silently debated this. On the one hand, if I revealed my identity to anybody, I was risking getting caught. But these two had already told me who they were- and they had obviously run away too. Daidouji Tomoyo- daughter of Daidouji Sonomi who was the CEO of TNC, Daidouji Toys. Though it didn't sound like much, it was a multi-billionaire business. Then, there was Hiragizawa Eriol. Son of Hiragizawa Takaya, CEO of the Clow Architecture business. Yet another example of how surprisingly rich you could get by simply dealing with toys and plans for houses.

Yet they had told me who they were.

'I'm Li Syaoran.'

Hiragizawa simply nodded, yet I knew that he had come to conclusion that I had run away from the Li clan- after all, why would the future heir of the richest and most powerful family of the East be here, in the humble town of Tomoeda?

Just as the awkward silence came again, Daidouji Tomoyo came in, balancing three cups and a teapot of tea on a tray. Carefully setting it down on the low table between the three couches which formed a 'U' shape around the table; she poured the tea out, and passed the cups around.

'So then,' started Tomoyo. I started in surprise- I hadn't expected her to start this conversation…

'Why is it that we have all come to the same apartment, each of us thinking it's theirs?'

And at that moment, the now hated sound of a key turning in the lock and the door opening came. In walked an emerald eyed girl who had cycled all the way from her mansion to Tomoeda- a very long distance. They all gaped. What on earth was happening?

'Ho-eeeee?'

There was a silence. A very awkward silence- possibly the most awkward so far.

Tomoyo sighed and got up.

'I'll go get another cup.'

Sakura's P.O.V

My legs were aching, my head was throbbing, and I was hungry.

Cycling all the way from the Kinomoto mansion to this place was by no way easy. I would never look at the people who participated in the 'The Tour de France' and etc. in the same light ever again… How on earth could they cycle on and on? It was so painful!

I could barely walk up the stairs to my room, let alone pull luggage behind me. Each step and bump was painful. Eventually, I made it up to my room, unlocked it and walked in, about to dump every I had and just go to sleep wherever I was standing at the time. However, the fact that there were 3 strangers sitting in the living room, drinking tea and generally looking more comfortable than I was, irritated me.

Obviously THEY hadn't been cycling for 3 hours straight.

At the sight of me, all their mouths dropped open. As if I was some kind of alien or something. Besides, it should've been me who gaped in shock and horror at these intruders. Not them.

Suddenly, all the tiredness, frustration and anger I had went crashing down on me. All I wanted to do was to go to sleep…but seeing as I had to fix this up first, the only thing I could do was,

'Ho-eeeeeeeee!'

I could hear my own voice bouncing back at me. Nice job, Sakura.

The purple-haired girl sighed and stood up. 'I'll get another cup,' she said, before moving into the kitchen, presumably to get another cup.

I dropped my bags on the ground, before walking over to sit at the end of the long couch with a brown- haired boy who seemed too focussed on his cup of tea. Ah well, that suited me fine. Only, I wanted a cup of tea too.

My wish was granted a moment later.

So what was going to happen now?

Normal P.O.V

The four teenagers sat around the table in silence. They had only met, yet…they were strangely at some kind of peace with one another.

Finally, the blue haired boy decided that it was best to get it over and done with. Besides, he was tired. Sleep called.

'Well then,' he started. 'I guess we should start by introducing ourselves.'

There was a mutual agreement from around the table.

'Then I'll begin.'

He stood up and formally bowed to the other three. 'Hiragizawa Eriol. Glad to meet you all.'

Silence. Why had he bowed to them? And he looked so funny, with his glasses all crooked and his hair all messy…

The boy, or rather, Eriol raised an eyebrow. 'What's wrong? If you find me funny, than laugh.'

More silence.

Then…

'Ah ha ha ha! You look so funny when you bow like that, Hiragizawa-kun!'

Eriol smiled at the honey-brown haired girl, glad that at least _somebody_ had laughed. Sheesh…he wasn't going to act like a clown for nothing! 'And you are?'

The girl stood up, beaming her warm smile at everyone. 'My name is Kinomoto Sakura. I hope that we can all be friends. Call me Sakura, by the way.'

This was answered with a smile from Eriol, a simple nod from the brown haired boy, and a big grin from the purple haired girl who stood up and introduced herself. 'Daidouji Tomoyo. Please call me Tomoyo- Daidouji-san makes me feel old…'

Finally, everyone's gaze turned to the brown-haired boy who sat sulking on the same couch as the lively emerald eyed girl. Seeing that everyone was looking expectantly at him, he sulked some more before standing up and giving the simplest introduction of all. 'Li Syaoran. Call me Li.'

Everyone gulped. What a scary guy…

For a few minutes, there was nothing but the sound of gulping tea and sipping. Then…

'So. Who's going to sleep with who?'

'Ho-eeeee?'

Now why did Hiragizawa Eriol look so evil just then?

Author's Note: I know you're all probably stabbing me over and over again in your minds, because of the terrible writing style I have. I'll try to make it better- after all, there's really no use in writing a story if you're not gonna improve anything =D Thank you to my reviewers, and I hope that this story is enjoyable to everyone who reads it =D Review if you would like to, and many thanks if you do!


	5. When breakfasts unite

Author's Note: Heh…heh… I'm sorry that I didn't update for so long, but after 4 consecutive nights of just writing chapters and no progress on my many projects, I realised that I would be in deep trouble if I didn't start on my work. So gomen to all of you, but it was very dire! Hope that this chapter is ok- I kind of rushed it, because I wanted to post it up early. But read- and be happy! . I don't own Cardcaptor Sakura, their characters, plot ., by the way. But this plot, and my new characters do =D=D Enjoy!

There were mixed reactions to this question. Sounds of chocking, gulping, and of course, Sakura's squeak of horror and confusion, filled the room. After all, they had all been used to stiff, formal styles of talking. Joking, was clearly not something that any of them were used to.

Eriol was an exception…

But Syaoran's reactions were by far the most impressive, if not amusing. Turning a bright red, heedless of his attempts to stop it, his tea spewed out his mouth, and he stared up at the blue-haired boy who seemed to suddenly give off an ambiance of pure evil. He, Li Syaoran, who had faced Dragon Masters and training teachers who were specifically trained to get the proper result out of their pupils in whatever way possible, was suddenly afraid of this mere _boy_ who he had just met for less than an hour. He felt his pupils dilate, and suddenly, he felt himself sweat- just slightly. What was it with this guy, this blue-haired, bespectacled guy who looked like he knew something that others didn't? Was he a murderer? Was he some kind of monster in disguise? Was he…

Syaoran shook himself and rolled his eyes. If only the Li Clan could see him now, freaking out over this mere boy. Wouldn't they be impressed…

Suddenly, in the midst of the silence, Tomoyo spoke up. 'I'll take the purple bedroom. Sakura-san, do you want to pair up? Or would you rather go with one of the boys…' She eyed Sakura nervously. Tomoyo had taken a liking to Sakura from the moment she introduced herself in that bright, vibrant way of hers. Something about Sakura just struck her as one of the friendliest auras that she had ever felt.

Sakura nodded in agreement. 'Sure Tomoyo-san.' They both stood up and headed over to the hallway, before disappearing into the purple room, laughing over some joke that Sakura had just told.

Suddenly, the aura of the living room turned frosty, as Syaoran glared furiously at Eriol, only to receive calm, knowing smile in return.

Silence.

Awkward silence.

'Do you want the bed? I'll sleep on the couch if you want the bed.'

Syaoran started at this show of kindness…No way was he going to let the bespectacled freak patronise him. 'No, it's alright!' He plastered a smile on his face, something that he really attempted to do, and ended up with a horrible, wolfish snarl on his face, enough to scare anyone off.

But not Eriol.

Instead, her just smiled even more patronisingly, and a quick, 'Thank you.', before walking off to the bedroom.

Syaoran stared at the boy's retreating form. Why did that guy have a strange aura about him? Something was definitely not right about him…But what was it?

Unable to put his finger on it, Syaoran shrugged and stretched his legs. They were cramped now, after walking so long and so far. His eye landed on the clock, which ticked away merrily. 11:56pm.

Since when did time go so fast?

As soon as the door fell shut behind Sakura, Tomoyo turned to her with a bright smile. 'So, Sakura-san-'

Sakura intervened, feeling that it would be good to have at least one good friend out of this bizarre group, 'please call me Sakura, Tomoyo-san'.

Tomoyo nodded, and continued. 'I wasn't really able to introduce myself to you properly with those two outside. So let's begin again, shall we. I'm Dadouji Tomoyo, and I'm guessing that you've run away from your father as well- just as I have.'

Sakura gawped, quite worried. Just how much this girl know? She looked kind enough, but appearances were extremely deceiving. 'T-Tomoyo-san? You're not going to tell my father are you?'

The girl smiled calmly. 'I don't do things that'll ruin my own escape. Don't worry,' she added, seeing Sakura's nervous look on her face.

There suddenly was an awkward silence. These 4 teenagers obviously needed some help- there were too many of these situations…

'Oh, what on earth!'

Tomoyo looked up in surprise at the honey-brown haired girl who had just burst out. 'Ehh?'

'Tomoyo-san, can we be best friends? I mean, obviously, we're gonna be here for a bit of time, so…' Sakura looked up with big emerald eyes, and held out her pinky, '…friends?'

Tomoyo stared at the pinkie, before staring at Sakura. Silence.

Then Tomoyo started to giggle.

Sakura looked questioningly on, as Tomoyo rolled around the bed laughing to herself, her giggles laced with squeals of 'Oh, so cute!' and 'Dresses! Costumes! Ka-wa-ii!'.

Just as abruptly as she had started, Tomoyo stopped giggling and squealing, before sitting up and adopting a solemn expression. 'You know Sakura, we've barely even met.'

Sakura nodded, her face falling. Was this rejection?

Tomoyo smiled warmly and hooked her pinkie with Sakura's. 'But you're the nicest person I have ever met.'

There was a solemn, yet warm silence after this. They each knew that the other 3 people that they had met today were by far the most honest and friendly people that they had met in a long time. Now tired from all of today's events, Sakura and Tomoyo began preparing for bed, brushing their teeth with water (too lazy/tired to get the toothpaste) and changing into pyjamas in the bathroom. The issue of the bed was quickly solved, with Sakura and Tomoyo quickly agreeing to just share it.

A few seconds after getting into bed, Sakura felt her eyelids drooping, and just as she was going to fall into the arms of blissful sleep, Tomoyo murmured frankly, 'You do know that the crossing of pinkies is for promises?'

Sakura smiled to herself sleepily. 'It just seemed a good idea at the time, Tomoyo-chan…a good idea…'

Tomoyo, slightly bemused yet not at all surprised at Sakura's quick cementation of their friendship with the '-chan'. It was only used for long time friends, and very close ones, too, she reflected. Sakura had already acclaimed her as her best friend.

And so had she.

Syaoran muttered obscenities as he tried to find a comfortable position on the sofa. It was so uncomfortable, which was only to be expected from someone who had slept on silken sheets for nearly all his life. Of course, he had undergone training, and had experienced several rough nights- but that was years ago! When he was 10 years old and still merely a puppet of the Elders. He'd finally realised the truth when he was 12. He was a puppet- a hanging dummy held up by strings, manipulated by the hands that held them. Cut his strings, and he would fall down, helpless.

So he'd stopped.

And the Elders finally left him alone. He was still the destined head of the Li Clan, though. _'The Elders said that they needed someone who wouldn't be intimidated- which was you. Seeing as they couldn't control you, than nobody should. It was all a test that the Elders had put you through.' _Yeah right. It hadn't been a test. He was only still the next leader because nobody was brave enough to take the reins of the formidable family, who put up the front of ruthlessness, bravery, and perfect control. On the inside, however, they were really a bunch of people who knew how to fight, yet wouldn't be able to organise and control the clan. So it all depended on the leader.

Who would be him, one day.

Syaoran turned to his side, and finally found that sleep would come to him. And just before sleep overcame him, he muttered to himself, a firm and determined voice,

'But not anymore…'

*The Next Day*

The sun shone brightly in the sky from its high position in the sky, showing that the day had already started and run merrily off, leaving the four teenagers in its wake.

A stray sunbeam fell on Sakura's sleeping face, causing her to screw her eyes up in pain and sit up sleepily. Peering groggily at the digital clock on the bedside table beside her, she squeaked (internally) in shock. 11:30! It was 11:30! Just how knocked out had she been?

A yawn came beside her, and she looked sideways at Tomoyo- her best friend!

Still yawning, Tomoyo also sat up and looked blearily at Sakura through her thick curtain of hair. 'Good morning, Sakura-chan'.

Sakura smiled brightly at Tomoyo's addition of '-chan'. 'Morning, Tomoyo-chan!'

Quickly, Sakura brushed her teeth and put her hair up into a ponytail, before changing into a neat sky-blue dress, perfect for the warm weather that was gracing the area. Sakura waited patiently for Tomoyo to do the same, all the while bouncing on the bed to try and touch the ceiling which was far away from her fingertips, even when she jumped her highest.

Finally, Tomoyo came out, wearing a light purple dress. 'Well, Sakura-chan, what should we do first? Breakfast- I have some fruit- or waking up the other two?'

Sakura grinned. 'I have some sandwiches (which have probably grown moss and fungi by now, though… ^_^). Bu-u-ut,' she widened her grin, looking like the picture of an angel gone wrong to life, 'I think it'd be a terribly cruel to the boys if we don't wake them up and share our food with them, ne, Tomoyo-chan?'

Of course, that wasn't really what Sakura was saying. Rather, what she really meant probably was something along the lines of, 'We should go and wake them up to see what food they have. Then, we might share our food.'

Walking to the boy's bedroom, which was just across the hall, Sakura and Tomoyo walked in, not bothering to knock, thinking that the boys were quite knocked out. Sure enough, there were two lumps, one on the bed, and another on the sofa under the blankets. Nodding to Tomoyo, Sakura silently crept over to the sofa and…

'Ho-oeeee!'

Sakura had leaped on the lump, trying to mock-throttle it, only to be in turn leapt on by a victorious Li Syaoran who had vaulted over the sofa and promptly ambush Sakura.

Tomoyo experienced a similar event, smirking to herself as she pounced on the lump, only to find herself landing on nothing more than pillows and blankets… She looked around quizzically.

'See, Li-kun? I told you that those two would be paying us a surprise visit for breakfast. Therefore, you owe me 2 of those delicious chocolate bars that you described in vivid detail.'

Syaoran scowled, before stomping out of the room to get his bag. Stomping back into the room, he took out two chocolate bars and handed them reluctantly to Eriol, who smiled pleasantly and took them.

Just as Tomoyo and Sakura were trying to sneak out, thinking that it would be more beneficial to them if they just left the crime scene. However, Eriol's call of, 'Didn't you want breakfast?'

Slowly, the two girls turned around. Really, there was a line which clearly said, 'Trespasser's NOT allowed.' Eriol here, had passed this line at a run a long time ago, and obviously didn't know that being so insightful would earn his the title of 'freak' among normal people.

Instead, Tomoyo smiled and agreed, and the four of them walked down to the living room, where they put Tomoyo and Sakura went over to their suitcases and retrieved their food. Eriol smiled and placed his assortment of fruit of vegetables that were neatly packed in a container.

And guess who wouldn't put out his share of food.

'Awww…Li-kun. It's alright- natural for spoilt children to be unwilling to share.' Eriol cooed in a sympathetic voice, while Sakura and Tomoyo looked on with amused smiles.

Glaring at the other 3, Syaoran muttered curses and damnations under his breath, before pulling out a stack of energy drinks and fruit juices in cartons.

'Well then,' said Eriol, his glee poorly concealed. 'We should have breakfast now, I guess.'

And even though Li Syaoran, future head of the Li Clan and renowned for inheriting his father's strength and his mother's quick temper- even though he had been teased and bullied to Eriol's heart's content…

Everyone was happy.

Including Syaoran.

Somehow…

Author's Note: Once again- how was that? Sincerely hope that it was to your liking, and if it wasn't, than apologies! Thanks to my reviewers- reviews make me happy =D Review if you would like to, and many thanks if you do!


	6. So you think you can cook?

Author's Note: I don't know if this is a good chapter or not ==" But something, just something, tells me that it's leading towards the latter. Ah well...But I've gotten a lot of work done these past few days, and I think it's time I started a new chapter. And my chapters aren't even that long O_O You should see Wish-chan's. They're like…literary 26 pages long each. Well maybe not the first few ones. But they're really, really long- but good! Heh…I should probably be promoting my own story. Well, hope that it's a good chapter, and I hope you enjoy it! I don't own Cardcaptor Sakura, by the way, as well as their plot, characters etc. I do own this plot and any other characters that I introduce, though =D Ah well…once again, enjoy!

There was a silence after they had all finished their breakfast. A comfortable one, of course. Tomoyo got up and began to clear the dishes and various containers which had contained fruit and other food before. Being the gentleman he was, Eriol got up and took some of the boxes out of her hands, receiving a grateful smile from Tomoyo in return, before they both walked to kitchen.

Leaving Sakura and Syaoran sitting awkwardly in the living room.

Sakura shifted uncomfortably. She didn't like this guy, with his angelic looks and devilish personality.

Like a bomb waiting to explode…

She had to say something…the silence was killing her! 'So your name is Li-kun, right?'

All she got in reply was a curt nod. Oh well…it wasn't like she had been expecting any more than that.

But Sakura really didn't want to have to survive in an environment with a ticking bomb. And besides, the more allies she could make (preferably powerful ones who had paralysing glares), the safer she'd be.

'So, Li-kun (I can call you that, right?), did you have a good night's sleep?'

Unfortunately for Sakura, Syaoran's eye twitched. Uh-oh. What had been so bad about that question?

Just then, saving Sakura from the wrath of an annoyed Syaoran, Tomoyo and Eriol walked in, talking quietly to each other. They stopped short on seeing Syaoran's furious glare directed at Sakura, and Sakura, melting into her chair, desperately hoping that the old 'hole opening up in the ground and swallowing her up' trick would come to her aid.

'Oh,' Eriol quickly amended, blinking rapidly, 'I-we're sorry for interrupting your private time. We'll leave.'

He began to retreat back into the kitchen, grabbing Tomoyo's wrist while he was at it. It took Sakura a second to realise that her only hope of salvation was being dragged into the kitchen by a blue-haired man. 'Murderer', though Sakura bitterly. The guy was gonna get cut, quartered, and murdered. Sloowllyy.

Suddenly, Tomoyo broke out of her reverie and ran back to Sakura. 'Sakura! Talk to me! Wiggle your fingers! You ok? Did that person' She shot a dirty look at Syaoran, 'hurt you?'

Sakura blinked worriedly. She wasn't so sure whether to be happy that she had been rescued, or to be extremely scared.

But considering that Tomoyo was her friend, she chose the former. 'Thank you soooo much, Tomoyo! That guy was going to kill me! He was gonna quietly murder me than toss me out our…6th floor balcony!' Sakura pointed at the balcony which led out of the living room.

There was an awkward silence.

Eriol decided that the responsibility once again fell upon him, to break the awkward silence. Really, someone else should take the initiative once in a while. 'I guess that we should get going to the Apartment Rental agency then…'

*20 minutes later*

'WHAT DO YOU MEAN, "THERE WEREN'T ANY OTHER APARTMENT ROOMS LEFT"?'

Syaoran towered imposingly over the poor man who was cowering behind his desk in fear. 'I-I'm sorry sir, but there just wasn't any single ones left…and w-we thought that because you were all around the same age…'

Syaoran glared even harder, and cracked his knuckles threateningly. This guy would be nothing more than a carcass on the ground by nightfall.

Noticing some *ahem* very subtle signs that a soul would be sent to heaven very soon, Eriol quickly walked forward, shoved Syaoran to stand behind the two girls, before facing the man himself. 'Now tell me. Are you sure that there is no apartments that are available for us? There aren't any more?'

The man nodded, or maybe he was just shivering hard. Either way, Eriol took the rapid movements of his head as a yes and sighed tiredly. 'Come on,' he muttered to the other three, and together (yes, even Syaoran), they all walked out into the bright sun, leaving a relieved man behind.

'Well then,' Tomoyo began to the others, who all looked up at her words, 'I guess we should go and get some groceries…and anything else we might want. Do you guys want to do that?'

The others nodded. It seemed that they were finally working as something remotely like a team.

Sakura caught up to Tomoyo, who had begun to walk down the street towards the big supermarket that they could see. 'Tomoyo-chan! What do you think we should have for dinner tonight?'

Tomoyo turned to her, smiling. 'I don't know. What do you feel like, Sakura-chan?'

'Stir-fry, soup and ice-cream for desert.' The two girls turned to see Eriol walking behind them, with Syaoran trailing further behind. 'What ice-cream do you want?'

While Sakura was mildly freaked out with Eriol's unnatural disappearing and appearing acts, Tomoyo just calmly smiled and replied, 'Chocolate for me, Vanilla for Sakura.'

Eriol nodded and walked back to Syaoran. 'You? What ice-cream?'

'Eh?' Syaoran looked up and scowled. Ice cream? 'I dunno…Caramel?'

'We're here!'

They had stopped in front of a massive supermarket. 'Perfect,' thought Tomoyo to herself, not knowing that Eriol was thinking exactly the same thing, 'nobody can remember us, then.'

Meanwhile, Sakura was gaping at the supermarket and its community-feel (being the daughter of a rich, rich CEO meant that she didn't go to these places), while Syaoran salivated at the thought of food.

They walked in and headed for the fruits and vegetables aisle, picking up a trolley on the way. 'So,' Tomoyo said, in a mock motherly way, 'what'll be in the soup?'

'Carrots!' Squealed Sakura, running off to get a bunch of carrots and dumping them in the trolley. Syaoran, on the other hand, had quietly gone off and came back with an armful of fruit and vegetables like onions, tomatoes, pumpkin, before putting them in the trolley as well. 'You'll need these.'

Eriol grinned. 'What about the stir-fry?'

'I think we have enough for that as well.'

Walking into the breakfast aisle, Tomoyo took a packet of rice off the rack as well as a bottle of oyster sauce. 'This is for tomorrow's breakfast.'

As they walked around the supermarket, putting in random things such as a packet of pre-made sushi, Tomoyo ran through a list in her head. What else did they need? Hmmm…The apartment provided a lot of things already, such as cups, plates, cutlery, a kettle, a frying pan…there was even a bottle of oil all ready for them.

'I think we have enough,' said Eriol, looking at the trolley, brimming with goodness knew what. They all began to head for the cashiers, but suddenly, Tomoyo thought of something. 'Wait. We can't all go as a group. Maybe…in pairs. As a group, we're far too memorable. And we'll split the food in half and meet up outside.'

'I'll go with you,' volunteered Sakura immediately.

'Sakura…' Tomoyo trailed off, still pondering. One had to be careful…you never knew when someone might remember you and dob you in. 'Sakura, I think you had better go with one of the boys. Because if we go together, it's alright…but two boys…'

Sakura got the subtle hinting. 'Ah…I see'.

'How about I go with Dadouji-san?' Eriol volunteered, quickly getting another trolley and scooping half the food into it, and dragging Tomoyo off.

'Eh?' Sakura looked questioningly after Tomoyo and Eriol's backs, before realising that she was left alone with the boy with the murderous intent…

'Um…Li-kun' She looked up worriedly. When she received absolutely no response, not even a nod, she tried again, louder. 'Li-kun?'

'Huh?'Syaoran looked down at Sakura. 'Err…Sorry about that. I was a bit lost for a moment.' He grabbed the trolley and began to walk towards the cashier with the smallest queue. 'Come on.' He said over his shoulder.

Sakura caught up with him and they waited patiently. Even though there was a loud hubbub with the overhead announcements and general babble, there was an awkward, awkward silence…

'Eh…Li-kun…I'm sorry for this morning. I was really, really full…drunk on food, I guess. But I hope I didn't annoy you. And hope that we have enough for dinner tonight. Can you cook? I can't cook. I can cook ramen, though. But even that tastes bad. Anyway, can we be friends? Because I think you're a nice person underneath even though you act like a grouch half the time and try to seem like you're a mean person when you actually aren't and…' Sakura trailed off, realising that babble wasn't really that great of a way to initiate conversation. Great. Now he would be really annoyed at her, adding onto this morning's pile.

But instead, surprising her, Syaoran managed to give her a small smile and said, 'I suppose we can be friends…'

Sakura opened her mouth in shock and relieved surprise. But before she could say anything, it was their turn at the cashier. Sighing, they both began to load their groceries onto the conveyer belt, not seeing the bug-eyed stare that the cashier gave them that said, 'Are they are _married_?'

After a long while the cashier scanned all their groceries, the cashier announced, '$81.78, thanks'.

Sakura gawped at the cashier, while Syaoran just sighed and drew out a wad of money, picked up most of the bags and began to walk off, leaving Sakura to take the change and receipt, pick up the rest of the bags and run after him. Since when did he walk so fast? He was already halfway to the front doors, were Tomoyo and Eriol could be seen waiting, with their many bags.

Gathering around, a throwaway suggestion from Sakura that they go back home and visit the park on the way was agreed to, and they began to walk home.

'Tomoyo-chan,' said Sakura, once again walking beside Tomoyo, 'do you know how to cook?'

Smiling, Tomoyo replied, 'Not really…But I suppose that we'll figure it out.'

Behind them, Eriol conversationally asked Syaoran, 'You do know how to cook right?'

Syaoran glared at Eriol. 'If you don't know how, then say so. I don't plan on getting food poisoning. It'll give our location away too easily.'

Eriol beamed. 'That's so caring of you, Sya-', he stopped, seeing Syaoran's deathly glare, 'I mean, Li-kun. Does that mean you'll cook for us? I can't cook, you see. I will however, help out. That is, if you can cook…'

Soon, they reached the park which was a street away from their apartment. Carefully placing her bags on a park bench, Sakura went skipping off, singing to herself, leaving the other three sitting on the bench with the many bags. After a while, Eriol decided that they needed to go back soon. It was nearly 2 o'clock in the afternoon, and none of them had eaten food in a long time. 'Li-kun, could you please go and get Sakura-san for us?'

Sighing, Syaoran stood up and headed off. He wanted food as well, and the less arguing there was, the faster they'd get back to the apartment and have food.

He walked among the trees until he reached the fountain in the middle of the park. Syaoran narrowed his eyes. Was there someone…_in _the fountain? Squinting harder, Syaoran saw Sakura happily sitting on the edge of the fountain, her feet carelessly trailing in the water. 'What the heck?' though Syaoran, heading towards the girl. 'We're going home now.' He said to the girl, unsure whether to say it harshly or kindly, and settling for a neutral, monotone voice.

Sakura smiled and got out of the fountain, slipping her wet feet into her sandals. They walked back to park bench in silence and the four of them began the short walk back home.

*Back in the apartment*

'Li-kun, are you sure that you know how to cook?'

Sakura looked over Syaoran's shoulder as her deftly added salt and chopped tomatoes to the boiling soup. He didn't answer for a few moments, hoping that she would be put off and go away, but out of the sides of his eyes, he saw Sakura, still peering over his shoulder with a worried look. 'I used to spend a lot of time in the kitchens, watching the cooks prepare meals.'

Sakura smiled, glad that Syaoran had decided to answer her. 'That's great! Now we have a good cook…because I suck at cooking…'

Sakura wandered back into the dining room, where Tomoyo was busily setting the table and Eriol was trying to get the television to work. She smiled even more. This was such a happy place.

'Dinner's ready,' came Syaoran's voice. 'Help me bring the food out.'

Sakura skipped back into the kitchen, and picked up the bowls of food before taking them back out and putting them on the table. 'Come on, guys!' She sat down in a seat happily. 'Let's eat what Li-kun has cooked for us!'

The other three sat down, and began to eat after their 'itadakimasu!'

They sat down and ate. For a while, peace and the sound of slurping and chinking of bowls and chopsticks filled the room.

'You know, this is actually quite good.'

Syaoran's eye twitched. 'What told you otherwise?'

'I dunno.' Eriol enjoyed his tormenting…but perhaps he was going a tad too far… 'You have the look of a spoilt rich boy about you. But it's probably nothing…'

He was probably pushing it, and Syaoran probably wanted to just leap out of his seat and, oh, I dunno, whip out his sword and slit his throat, or if he was really that mad, chop him up into 20 pieces and set them on fire.

But he did nothing.

Quite a feat, mind you. Quite a feat…

Author's Note: So how was it? Badly written? Alright? I hope it wasn't too bad, though ==" Oh…thanks to my reviewers, too. I do appreciate them- and they make me happy =D If you have any queries about any of the plot so far, do ask. I'm sure I've left holes everywhere, but I can't seem to find any. So do tell =D Hmm…Review if you would like to, and many thanks if you do. And too all my readers, I hope you enjoy my story!


	7. This is when it starts to get strange

Author's Note: I'm so sorry… *winces*.Yeah…I know. I definitely should've posted up another chapter a very long time ago. Oh well… What matters is that I've posted one up, right? Even though it is…only a month or so late…*sweat drops* ==" Apologies, guys. Anyway, I hope this chapter is up to your liking- I've tried to shove a whole lot of stuff into this one, so that I can finally write about the fun part, not just continually about them living in an apartment and arguing… Hope that it's not going too fast! Thank you to my reviewers, too. Well- Read on, and enjoy =D I don't own Cardcaptor Sakura, by the way, but any new characters that I introduce are mine, as is the plot line.

The day dawned with the oh-so-clichéd blue-sky and bright sun. The world was at peace…

In a humble, but cheerful looking apartment located in the unknown town of Tomoeda, 4 teenagers were sprawled over the couches, mouths open in a Kodak moment style, with an innocent looking pile of cards strewn all over the floor.

Outside, a flock of birds suddenly burst into a cacophony of screeches, waking up the brown haired teenager with a start, who vaulted off the sofa and into a martial arts position. 'Who's there?'

His battle cry woke up the other boy, who levered himself off the sofa tiredly and stood, dazedly looking at the scattered cards which formed a near carpet on the floor. 'Huh?'

Syaoran turned and raised his eyebrow. 'Hiragizawa?'

The boy looked blearily at him. 'Yash?'

Syaoran sighed. 'Don't worry.'

Eriol nodded in response, and began to wake Tomoyo, who lay in a blissful oblivion on the sofa adjacent to his. 'Wake up. It's 12pm already.'

Tomoyo bolted up. 'What? It's midday?' She spotted the clock who was hanging innocently on the wall. The two black hands clearly showed '8:40'. Tomoyo twisted around, scowling at Eriol. 'You liar.' Eriol eyed the gleam in her eyes, and decided that he really wouldn't have all too long to live if he didn't run. 'Well, 'moyo, I guess I'd be going now. I've got to go and,' he cast a desperate look around the apartment, 'wake Sakura up.'

He disappeared from view, nowhere near Sakura, leaving Tomoyo staring at where he had disappeared. She regained her wits after a while. 'WHO SAID YOU COULD CALL ME "MOYO", HUH?'

'Eh?' A slight whimper came from the other couch, and they all turned to see Sakura sitting up and clutching her head. She obviously wasn't up to a game marathon which lasted to 3am in the morning.

'Whoa…' Sakura's eyes turned into swirls. 'What happened?'

Nobody answered. It was an awkward, awkward silence. After all, they were all the future CEOs of the biggest companies in Japan. And they had just stayed up playing board games, snap…

'Well…' Tomoyo drew out the 'l' nervously. 'You see…'

_Flashback_

'That was a good dinner. So much better than the ones I usually have.' Sakura leaned back on her seat, feeling contented with a full stomach and the friendly atmosphere.

'I agree,' Eriol joined in. 'You'll be our official cook from now on, Syaoran.' That earned him a glare from the said person.

Tomoyo decided to change the topic before a fight began. 'Well, to top of the good day, let's play some games.'

'Games?' That came from Sakura.

'Yup!' Tomoyo got up and rummaged in the cupboard. She'd been exploring the apartment, and came across piles of random things the Agency provided for them. And what had she found? Piles of board games and a pack of cards…

'Here.' Tomoyo slid the cards out of their cardboard sleeve and began to deftly deal them out into 4 neat piles. 'We're going to play Snap.'

'Snap?' Eriol slid onto the sofa beside Tomoyo and took a pile of cards, looking over his cards with an amused smile. 'Well, I hope you're all good losers, because I once known as the King of Snap, you know. Competitions were held, and I won all of them. I was the winner of the international Snap competition.'

Sakura sweatdropped. 'Really?'

Eriol nodded solemnly. 'Didn't you hear about that?'

'No… not really. I don't really tune into that sort of news…'

'We can start now.' Tomoyo sat back contentedly on her sofa, eyeing her cards with a smile that wouldn't look all that out of place on a tiger.

Sakura looked questioningly at the lone pile of cards on the table. 'Where's Li-kun?'

They all turned around to see Syaoran scowl right back at them. 'Don't think that I'm going to play some dumb game called "Snap" just because I left the Li-clan'.

'I suppose that you're just scared to play because you're afraid you'll lose.'

'IT'S NOT THAT!'

Sakura looked nervous while Tomoyo and Eriol just smiled.

And Syaoran fumed.

*An hour later*

'SNAP! HA- YOU LOSE!'

'You cheated, you Li- clan training nerd! Don't try to pull your little tricks on m-e'

'SNAP! You were saying, oh-four eyed one?'

'Li-kun, I think you should calm down. The neighbours have already called a couple of times to complain about the noise we're making…'

'I agree with Tomoyo- chan'.

'SNAP! I WIN- AGAIN!'

'YOU CHEATED!'

And on it went. An hour passed. And another. And another.

It was now 3 am in the morning.

_End flashback_

Tomoyo grinned nervously at Sakura, who seemed to be in deep thought after hearing the long and tragic tale of how they came to wake up, sprawled all over the couches. Or, she could have just been planning on how to kill Tomoyo for starting them on the card games…

'Shall we have breakfast?'

Everyone jumped and stared at Eriol, who had emerged from the kitchen, carefully holding a tray of sliced bread and a jar of strawberry jam. Eriol had a smile on his face, completely unaware that the living room currently had an unexploded bomb in it.

Eriol, realising that the living room was kind of too silent to be normal, stopped and raised an eyebrow. 'Err…breakfast?'

Sakura sweatdropped. 'Why are we all standing around, not eating breakfast?'

Syaoran looked frostily back at her. 'Maybe because someone looked as if they were going to shoot us?'

_What the- _Sakura sent just as icy looks back at him. 'I wasn't going to kill anybody. You, on the other hand, walk around as if you expect somebody to try to assassinate you. Don't be such a hypocrite.'

Everybody just gaped. 17 years of living with Fujitaka's hard expectations had made her exceedingly touchy to insults. Especially insults from egotistical males.

'BREAKFAST!' Tomoyo cried, nearly screaming, making everybody except for Eriol to jump. She grabbed the tray from Eriol and slammed it onto the table, the juice in the glasses nearly spilling over the edges.

At Tomoyo's dangerous gaze, everyone quickly sat down and began to eat the rice obediently. Not that it was bad, of course. But being forced to eat breakfast on pain of death would make anybody feel scared.

There was an uncomfortable silence in the air after breakfast. What was there to do? They couldn't just sit there, day and night in the apartment, doing nothing, only going out to get groceries. They hadn't even graduated from high-school yet.

As if hearing everyone else's thoughts, Eriol spoke up. 'Do you guys think we should go back to school?'

'School…?' Sakura sighed. 'Maths is such a killer of me.'

Syaoran rolled his eyes. 'Maybe that's just because you're dumb.'

That got Sakura fired up. 'I'm not dumb. I just don't like maths.'

'You're dumb.'

'I am not.'

'You so are.'

'Am not.'

'Are t-'

'We are going to school.' Tomoyo crossed her arms, making her look quite scary, rather than cartoonish. 'Together,' she added, seeing Sakura open her mouth.

'This is all very fine,' Syaoran interrupted, 'but how do you plan on getting us through the rest of our schooling days without being caught by our parents?'

Eriol smirked and answered for Tomoyo, 'Haven't you ever heard of hair dye and contacts?' Sakura looked bleakly at the floor, fingering her hair worriedly. Syaoran, on the other hand, just glared at Eriol, daring him to try and dye his hair some outlandish colour, and knowing Eriol, he would probably dye Syaoran's hair pink.

'Of course, Syaoran' Eriol said slyly, 'you aren't brave enough to dye your hair. Too proud of your hair, aren't you?'

And even though this was the lamest ruse in the book, it still worked. 'Who said I was proud of my hair?' he said quickly, 'I just don't want you to get a too big of a head, thinking that you have all the ideas…'

_An hour later_

'Tomoyo –chan... why do I have to dress up as an emo?'

Sakura, her hair dyed black, was wearing the traditional costume of the 'emo', with black pants, black t-shirt, black jacket and complete with black sport shoes. Tomoyo had even managed to find her black contacts.

The four walked slowly down the road to the Seijou High School. Everyone was silent, except for Tomoyo, who nattered on about how wonderful this was going to be, and how cute the name 'Monito Amanata' was. Sakura, or Amanata, was sighing slowly, wondering if she could ever have the normal life she wanted. 'With auburn hair and green eyes,' she thought crossly, 'not black hair and black eyes.'

Syaoran was sulkily walking at the end of the group, hands stuffed into the jacket of his new sports jacket. He didn't really have all that much of a right to be sulky. After all, he was only going to be a sports star, which wasn't too hard for him, considering all the training he went through. Yet he was still sulking. 'I don't want to be "sports star". That's so lame. Can't I just be myself?' Eriol had ignored his protests, dying his hair blond.

Eriol, himself, was to join Syaoran in the ranks of the athletically elite. 'Mind you don't act too smart, Hiragizawa. We don't want our parents to be realise that Seijou High School suddenly has students who are a lot smarter than they should be', Syaoran had muttered to Eriol, sniggering as he saw Eriol awkwardly put on a sports jacket.

And as for Tomoyo? Well, she planned on being normal. 'I want to see what it's like to be a normal person for a while,' she said, when given quizzical looks from the other three.

Soon, they reached the gates of the Seijou High School, two massive gates, slightly ajar. With Eriol leading the way (he had somehow managed to procure a map of the school…_somehow_), they made their way to office where they informed the receptionist of their application.

The receptionist, some 50 years old, blinked bemusedly at the four, or more specifically, at two boys who were trying to hide behind Tomoyo and Sakura.

'Erm…' Tomoyo sweat dropped, wondering if it were normal for 50 year old ladies to be mooning over two boys who were around 32 years younger them and if there was a term for this.

'Mrs.,' Sakura checked the name tag on the starry eyed woman's lapel, 'Sanditon. We're here to see the principal to discuss our applications into this school…'

'Huh…Oh wha-?' Everyone tried not to laugh as the woman started and tried to look normal. 'Of course. Mr. Clow will see you so-'

A low, powerful voice interrupted her. 'I'll see them now.' The quartet looked behind the receptionist, to see a tall man with a greying beard holding his office door open, and inviting them in. They all looked at each other sheepishly. 'Li-kun?', Sakura asked innocently, 'would you like to go in first?'

Tomoyo tutted and shoved Eriol in along with her, beckoning for the others to follow her in. Suddenly, Sakura's foot got caught on the receptionist's chair, and tripped over.

'Huh wha-?' Syaoran made to grab her before she fell (after all, he's not that evil), but only succeeded in grabbing her hand and going down with her.

'Tomoyooooo-omphh'. Sakura was sprawled all over the ground with Syaoran still holding her hand, resulting with her arm being pulled behind her.

'Eh?' Tomoyo and Eriol turned around to see Sakura and Syaoran on the ground with pained looks on their faces. 'Sakura-chan? What happened to you?'

'I tripped.'

'Oh yeah…I can see that…' Tomoyo laughed sheepishly, 'here, I'll help you up.'

Meanwhile, Syaoran was having a very bad time with Eriol. 'Say, Syaoran, I didn't know that you liked being on the floor so much. Or maybe you're just clumsy.'

Syaoran turned red. 'I'm not clumsy.'

'Then we'll just have to assume that you were on the ground with a purpose…with Sakura…'

'Wha-what?' Syaoran clenched his fists tightly, not wanting to make too much of a scene in front of the principal. 'I wasn't doing anything…'

'Sure you weren't.' Eriol smirked, filing away this memory under the folder "Blackmail".

'Ahem'. The four turned around to see Mr. Clow looking at them with an amused look on his face. 'As much as your conversation is interesting, I do believe that there is some business to finish.'

Stepping forward, Eriol fell into his professional, business-like demeanour. 'Mr. Clow, we, pertaining to this quartet, would like to be accepted into this prestigious school a-'

'You are Gareno Toreni, am I right?'

Eriol nodded, slightly unsure.

The old man smiled, 'Please don't lie. Your name is Hiragizawa Eriol. And you three,' he added, looking at the other three, 'are Kinomoto Sakura, Li Syaoran and Daidouji Tomoyo.'

They all looked extremely worried now. Was this old man going to raise the alarm?

'Why don't you four sit down?'

They all sat down, even Eriol.

'Obviously,' Mr. Clow began as soon as they had all been seated, 'you're all wondering how and why I know exactly who you are, even though your disguises are quite thorough.' The old man paused, and the four teenagers looked hesitantly on, debating whether or not to say something. Mr. Clow continued on, however, not giving them enough time to compile a good answer.

'Do you believe in magic?'

The four fell over in shock. Magic? Syaoran snorted, while Tomoyo and Eriol just tried to look understanding. Sakura, on the other hand, just sweat dropped, wondering if the old man was in his right state of the mind.

'Well,' Mr. Clow said sternly, 'you should.'

The four teenagers, who had just picked themselves off the floor, promptly fell over again. 'Sir…are you sure?' Eriol, who was the unanimous leader of the group, spoke for them all.

'Young man,' the principal replied, giving Eriol something between an amused look and a fully fledged death glare, 'who are you to question whether I'm sure or not? After all,' he continued seeing Tomoyo open her mouth in order to defend Eriol, 'how do you know whether or not there is magic in this world or not?'

'Mr. Clow.' Tomoyo stood up, trying to look dignified, 'please explain.'

The old man smiled at her, a teenager who was not scared, not angry, not amused- but willing to listen.

'We live on planet Earth, part of one of the many worlds of this time. And the world which rules us all is a place we call सत्तारूढ़ भूमि (I'm really sorry, but I don't know how to speak Hindi ==") which means "Ruling land" in a language from which modern day Hindi is derived. But what's really important, is the fact that if something goes wrong with that land, everything in this time will die. And there will be something wrong with the land, if you fail to stop the forces trying to get the protective jewels of then…well…you won't even be there to regret it.'

The four teenagers let out the breath they were holding. 'Mr. Clow…' Eriol tried to say something that would get rid of the awkward silence that filled the room. But what was there to say? Something corny like, 'Ohh…We'll do our best! We don't mind crazy forces, even though we're just four teenagers who were cut out for being future CEOs, not heros…'

Mr. Clow saved him from having to think of something else to say, though. 'Hiragizawa Eriol. Have you ever thought that you're not exactly the average future CEO?'

Eriol started, trying not to let his surprise show on his face. 'What do you mean?' keeping his voice level.

The old man simply smiled. 'Eriol, that key you found, the entrance you found. Have you ever wondered why nobody ever saw it? Except for you? And that time, when your father became ill while beating you, when you were nine years old- what happened?'

Eriol's eyes grew wide.

'And have you ever,' the old man finished, 'wondered why your father hates you so much?'

The air in the room suddenly turned frosty.

'Because he knows, Eriol,' Mr. Clow said quietly, 'that you are the reincarnated leader of a man called Clow Reed. And he knows that he, a demon who is controlling your father, is the one that you will destroy, unless he can stop the prophecy from becoming true.'

A sudden silence.

Clonk!

Everyone turned to see Sakura lying on the floor, looking as if she had just fallen down from shock or something. 'Heh…heh…I'm alright, don't worry. Just a bit of shock, that's all… Keep going.'

They all looked back to Mr. Clow, who seemed to have heard something and stood up, cocking his head to some unheard sound. 'They're coming.'

'Huh?' Sakura looked worried. An escapade from her father had suddenly gone off track.

The old man turned back to the group. 'Take these,' he ordered, opening his hand (which the group had not noticed to be clenched for all that time) and on his palm lay 3 necklaces- like Eriol's. Instinctively, Tomoyo reached forward and took the softly glowing silver key with purple tinted engravings, Sakura found herself with a key with a cherry-blossom figure carved out, and Syaoran, well, he was left with the possibly lamest one of all. A key with two red tassels hanging down. Wearily, he took it and looked at appraisingly.

As soon as the three had taken their necklaces, Mr. Clow began to speak in hushed tones, as if he were afraid of someone eavesdropping on their conversation. 'You four must collect the twelve protective jewels of the Ruling World. But _before _that, the other half of the prophecy, which happens to be split into 4 pieces, must also be found, and combined with the first, intact half, which I will give you right now. Keep it safe.' He opened a drawer in his desk, took what seemed to be a withered piece of parchment out and handed it to Eriol, who seemed bemused by the proceedings. The others didn't really blame him, but wondered why he seemed to be the leader of their little troupe. But the old man in front of them quickly began to speak again. 'Be careful. Trust one another, work with each other, and don't let the forces break the group up.' His voice trailed off.

The four teenagers stared in shock as the old man slowly sank back down into his chair, shaking slightly.

'Go. Hiragizawa Eriol, just take your key and say what you think is right…You and the other three will get to the world with no problem.'

Everyone automatically looked at Eriol, who glared back at them, his eyes clearly saying 'I don't know what he's talking about.'

Suddenly, the door burst open, and the receptionist, who had seemed to be such a nice woman, albeit, a tad bit perverted, had become a half human, half eagle- a demon.

'Ms. Sanditon,' Mr. Clow sighed. 'What a pity- you were such a good receptionist, too.'

Ms. Sanditon (the demon) clearly did not seem to appreciate this praise, and advanced on the four teenagers, who were slowly backing towards the window.

Eriol looked nervously at Mr. Clow. 'Is this…a demon?'

The old man nodded cheerfully. 'Absolutely. What gave it away?'

Eriol rolled his eyes and was about to ask how to get rid of the demon, when he suddenly felt his key hovering up on its string around his neck. Everyone (even the demon) became silent, and watched as the key glowed until it became unbearably bright.

'Key that hides the power of darkness. I, Eriol, command you under contract…' 'Huh?' thought Eriol, 'what the hell am I saying?' The key suddenly became a long staff in his hands, a long, slender staff with a strange sun emblem on top.

'Err…' Eriol looked cautiously at the long staff in his hands and sweat dropped, before looking over at Mr. Clow for support (Mr. Clow just smiled) and at the demon before him. 'Destroy…?'

A huge ball of light came out of his staff and slammed into the creature's heart.

And an epic moment of silence.

Then the creature shrieked, a horrible, high-pitched screech, before finally disengrating.

Another silence.

'Wow…' Eriol looked dazed, and peered at the staff in his hands in awe.

'I reckon.' Syaoran looked envious, wondering if the tasselled key in his hands could do that.

A low groan averted their attention to Mr. Clow, who now seemed to be once again in the wake of death.

'I have enough magic left to transport you into the Ruling World, and give you provisions for the first few days of your journey.' Everyone looked quizzically at the man, all thinking 'How long are we gonna be there, anyway?'

'Suddenly, a black door appeared in front of the four teenagers, and some strange magnetic force dragged them towards it.

Just as they were about to be completely gone, Syaoran glanced back at Mr. Clow, who was sitting at his desk calmly, arms neatly folded in front of him. The old man smiled at him, and nodded in Sakura's direction. 'Score big.'

'Ehh?' Syaoran barely managed to get out, before he too, was sucked into the door and everything went black.

Author's note: BWA HA HAHA! What do you think about Mr. Clow's parting crack to Syaoran? I think Syaoran's thoroughly uneasy about what's before him, now. Before he was just all gung-ho and able to face armies of undead creatures. But he's uneasy now, just cause some guy he just knew (didn't help that the 'some guy' was 90 years old, too), told him to 'score big'. Ah well, once again, hope that this was a good chapter, and I hope that I don't post up the next chapter too late. And also once again, thank you to my reviewers, and to those who read this story- and if you review, thank you very much (they make me happy =D) and thank you anyway for reading, even if you don't review.


	8. A Whole New World

Author's Note: So, how long has it been since I last updated? I'm sorry, everyone. I know, that as an author, I have a duty not only to my readers, but also to myself to update regularly at a maximum of a week interval. But sometimes, just sometimes, it takes careful thought and a long stewing over to get a chapter done. Because now it's in a new place, I don't know what to write. Note, I haven't planned anything at all. Nothing. I am purely winging this story, which may or may not seem to be true, yet is, regardless. But, anyway, I hope this is a good chapter. I hope you all find it interesting and fulfilling.

Disclamer: I don't own Cardcaptor Sakura. However, any new characters and this plot line is mine.

On a relatively deserted countryside, a door suddenly appeared in a bed of flowers and four teenagers were spat out of the black space, causing the deer and birds around them to start and back away. Four large backpacks were thrown out after them, landing squarely on top of them, before the door faded away.

'Ow!'

'Oomph.'

'Someone is kneeing my stomach. Remove your knee. Now.'

'Ohh…Li-kun, already grumpy?'

'Could we please cut out the gung-ho act, Li-kun? And Hiragizawa-san, you aren't making the situation any better.' Tomoyo looked cross, but nobody could see her anyway as they were all on their backs.

Syaoran hurriedly shut his mouth, swallowing the comeback that he was just about to aim and shoot at Eriol dying on his lips. Somehow, Tomoyo's voice had conveyed a message. As in a _talk again and I'll punch you into next week _message.

With a sigh, Tomoyo heaved herself up, taking in the view and being stunned into silence. 'Whoa…' was all she could say, causing the others to get up hurriedly and see for themselves, what had stunned Tomoyo.

And whoa indeed. Acres and acres of green grass lay around them, and the sea could be seen, far in the distance. An ominous looking forest was not far from them, and a few villages were scattered around.

'I guess this is the Ruling world that Mr. Clow told us about,' sighed Eriol, turning away from the panoramic view to begin sorting through the pile of bags that had come through the door with them. 'Come on, guys. Get a bag, and we'll be off. The sooner we get this "mission" over and done with, the sooner we'll be able to return to Earth.'

The others realised that Eriol indeed did have a point, and grabbed their respective bags. Tomoyo took the lavender bag that Eriol offered her and looked through it.

'What the heck am I WEARING?'

Everyone turned to look at Sakura, who was holding up a cloak and looking at her clothes in shock. Somehow, her emo outfit had transformed itself into some kind of ancient woman's dress which reached down to the grass and covered the joggers that she could still feel herself wear.

'Huh?' Tomoyo looked down at herself, and sweat dropped at the dress that she was wearing. How was it that they had only noticed this now?'

'I feel like a retard,' said Syaoran. He picked awkwardly at his linen trousers and shirt, and wondered why he was still wearing sport shoes.

'Oh come on,' groaned Eriol, 'so what if we're wearing the lame clothes? It's not like anyone from Japan's gonna see us. So be quiet and we'll all decide what we're gonna do.'

As if in response to his last remark, Eriol's key once again began to glow, and rise up on its string, pointing in an obvious direction, and pointing straight at the forest.

'Eh?' Eriol eyed his key warily, wondering what it was doing _now_. After all, there weren't any demons around.

'W-why is that key pointing to the forest?' asked Sakura nervously, 'It doesn't mean that we're gonna go into it, right? T-the key's just saying that we shouldn't go there- and I agree.'

Syaoran snorted and rolled his eyes at Sakura's stuttering. So what if they were going to go into the forest? This girl needed a serious reality check.

Tomoyo moaned internally and wrenched out her hair in her mind, wondering how things could go so wrong. How was it possible that two people could not get along so badly? And how was it that old men posed as high school principals, handed out 'supposedly' magical staffs, and then kicked them into some random land? 'But I would rather be here than with my mother,' she muttered to herself,

So with this thought in mind, she mustered up the last of her patience and energy, and assumed a leaderly disposition. 'Alright everyone. We're just going to take a quick vote. Majority rules. Who wants to go to a village and decide what to do from there?'

Sakura thought about it for a moment, before deciding to not put up her hand and glaring at Syaoran defiantly.

'So…who wants to follow Hiragizawa-san's key and go to the forest?'

Everyone put up their hand.

'Ok guys,' Eriol ordered for the umpteenth time, 'put on your packs and start moving.'

The others grumbled, before they all started off, down the hill, towards the black forest. With every step that drew them closer to it, Sakura felt more and more worried. It wasn't that she was a sissy- she simply hadn't felt good when she had looked at the forest.

'A cold feeling,' she realised, shivering and hugging herself for warmth.

Before long, they were standing before the forest. Now that they were up close, the four shivered (Syaoran would never admit to it) and wondered why it was so quiet.

There wasn't a single sound coming from the forest.

'Well come on,' Eriol whispered, having no idea why he whispered, 'we're here already.'

With an air of reluctance, the four walked into the black forest, and were 4 metres in when Eriol gave a yell of shock and horror.

'THE FOREST SHUT US IN HERE!'

Startled, they all turned around and saw the last gap of sunlight closed up by the thick, black branches of the trees around them.

They suddenly felt a lot more kindly to each other.

'Hey Hiragizawa-san?' Tomoyo ventured, hoping that her nervousness didn't show.

'Call me Eriol, Daidouji-san', the said person responded tiredly, silently vowing to never go into an obviously ominous forest because of a key with the credentials of nought happened to point in its direction.

'Well…um…Eriol-kun,' stuttered Tomoyo (the great Tomoyo-sama! Stuttering!), 'What do you think we should do next?'

Eriol sighed, wondering why he had to be the 'leader' of this unhealthy group. 'Daidouji-san-'

'Please call me Tomoyo-san, Eriol-kun.'

'Tomoyo-san, I'm not actually sure what we should do. If I had to make a decision, though, I'd say that we g-'

'Oh look… the four heroes…destined to save the land and the world…how sweet.'

'I agree. And what a pity that they have to die so soon.'

'Do you mind?' Eriol butted in, annoyed. 'Either go away of show yourselves.'

'Did one of the puny little boys just order me to do something?'

'I think he did.'

The two demons stepped out of the tree and growled furiously. Eriol simply sighed. More demons? And he seemed to be sighing too much lately. And that just annoyed him all the more.

'Is there something that we're meant to do, or is Eriol-kun going to kill them?' Sakura fingered her key and took it off, causing the others to follow her example hurriedly.

So there they stood, four teenagers, not even out of high school yet, facing off two demons who actually knew what was going on.

The demons growled some more and began to advance on the four, three of which began to give the other one very meaningful looks.

'ALRIGHT! Alright! I'll try and get rid of them, ok? Gosh…geez…' Eriol shook his head and tsked.

'Key that…key that…hides…' He faltered. 'Key that hides the power of….' Eriol tried not to panic. 'I can't remember anymore.'

'Oh well, that's just great,' sighed Syaoran. 'And it seems that none of us can get our lumps of metal to work, either.'

Maybe that was the trigger.

In an instant, all the keys glowed and lengthened to long staffs with varying colours. Except for Syaoran, who was the proud holder of a gleaming sword.

With two red tassels at the end.

Not that Syaoran was complaining of course. It was a good sword, and two tassels wouldn't dampen anyone's mood. 'This is a cool sword. Almost as good as the ones I have back at my home.'

Everyone gawked at him, Sakura being brave enough to actually voice their thoughts. 'Y-you have swords at home? Multiple swords?'

The two demons, not happy at being neglected from attention for so long began to growl again, catching the attention once again of them all.

'Oh yeah,' Eriol said cheerfully, 'I forgot you were there. Hold on a second, we'll ju-'

GRUMBLE!

They all jumped and turned to Sakura, who was holding her stomach and looking embarrassed.

'Sorry,' she whimpered, giving them a pitiful look, 'but it's been a long time since breakfast.'

'True,' said Tomoyo, considering this. 'As soon as we get rid of these demons, we'll have some food, 'kay?'

The demons laughed. 'You seriously think that you can get rid of us and still be able to sit down and have _dinner_?'

'Why not?' replied Eriol, shrugging. 'We did it before.'

'Except we didn't have dinner. We got thrown into this place.' Tomoyo added.

'Which reminds me, Eriol,' interrupted Syaoran, determined to have a say in this conversation. 'Shouldn't we actually kill them now?'

'Oh yeah…'

Taking a firm hold of his staff, he pointed it at the two demons and said clearly, 'Destroy'.

Nothing happened.

'$%^&*#' screamed Eriol in his mind.

'$%^&*#!' yelled Syaoran out loud. 'What?' he complained, when he saw the others, even the demons, giving him disapproving looks, 'Well, what do we do, NOW?'

Eriol sighed. 'Have you ever considered using that sword of yours?'

Everyone sweat dropped. Syaoran just glared at Eriol for making him look stupid.

Mumbling a quick 'I knew that' under his breath, Syaoran did the stupidest and the bravest thing.

He charged at the demons.

Now for a second here, consider. Even though Syaoran was a master at sword fighting, techniques, martial arts and so on, he was in a foreign land, fighting two creatures that he did not know, with a sword he had only just gotten, meaning that he had not adjusted to its weight and proportions. On top of that, he didn't know the demons' weaknesses, their powers and, oh, have I mentioned that he hasn't even thought through his battle plan, backup plan, and most importantly, how to actually kill them?

This all went through Eriol's mind in an instant, and he sweat dropped before yelling, 'Li! You idiot! You can't take on two demons at onc-'

Tomoyo grabbed his wrist. 'Don't scream! Li's too far into this to stop. We have to actually go in, and help him.'

With a loud yell (or scream), Syaoran parried, dodged, attacked- all desperately. He had realised, moments too late, that he really could not do this alone, and that he was in a group of four for a reason. Minutes into the battle and he was already wearing out, unable to keep up with two adult demons, who recognising this, lunged at him at the same time and threw him into a tree, completely winding him. In a second, a demon had already gone over to his hurt form and held a sharp claw to his exposed throat, before turning to look at the rest of the group.

'This is what will happen to you, so I suggest that you giv-'

The demon was so caught up in his dramatic speech that he didn't recognise that there were no longer any teenagers in the clearing. 'Huh?'

'Remove your…claw from Li's neck and step away from him.'

From beside him, Tomoyo rolled her eyes. 'Watched any action movies lately?'

Sakura nodded her agreement.

Syaoran and the demon both looked up at the same time, Syaoran scowling in humiliation as he realised that he had to be _saved_ like some bloody princess by the four-eyed freak. The demon also scowled, or at least attempted to, contorting the dark flabby folds of his reptilian face. 'Don't come any closer or I'll slit his neck.'

Eriol sighed. 'Do you ever listen to pure logic?' He whispered a quick prayer to kami-sama to make this work, before pointing his staff and muttering, 'DESTROY'.

The demon turned to crisp, some ashes falling onto Syaoran and burning him. He glared at Eriol, refusing his hand for help and standing stiffly up, brushing the remains of what had previously been threatening his life off his tunic, wincing as he felt the coarse fabric under his fingers, another reminder that he was in this, whether he liked the clothes provided or not.

Eriol sighed. This boy would a severe problem to all of them is he didn't get over his attitude problem. 'I'm not going to ask for a thank you, because I know you're too scared to say it.'

Syaoran stiffened. 'Who said I wasn't going to say it?'

'Well why aren't you giving me one, then?'

Syaoran glared. 'I would've been fine on my own.' He strode off quickly, determined to get away from the bespectacled guy with the threatening staff.

Sakura muttered an expletive under her breath. 'What a jerk.'

Tomoyo looked contemplative. 'Maybe he has his own reasons. After all, he comes from the Li clan, who's known for their "demon training" which they put prospective candidates for elders, chosen ones, leaders- you know.'

Sakura looked completely confused. 'What does that have to do with him?'

Tomoyo felt like smacking her head against something hard. 'Sakura, haven't you noticed? He has a fighter's grace- it's so obvious in everything he does. He's been trained to be a warrior from a very young age- and it probably hasn't been easy. So be gentle on him- I know he's a jerk, but he probably needs to just soften up.'

Sakura nodded, in awe of Tomoyo's sharp eyes that missed nothing.

A voice came up from behind them. 'I don't think it'd be smart to rest just yet. There's still another of those creatures around, you know.'

The two turned around guiltily, wondering how much of their hushed conversation Eriol had heard. But he showed no sign of having heard anything, and simply motioned with his staff towards the last demon.

They all turned towards the demon, who was lurking in the shadows, trying to decide what to do.

Sakura looked disturbed. 'Do we kill it?'

From behind the other three, Syaoran rolled his eyes. 'Well what are we meant to do? Take it in and adopt it?'

Sakura whirled around, facing Syaoran angrily. '_Be gentle, be understanding' _she warned herself internally. Out loud, she stated, 'Don't you know that only people who can't have children adopt children? Unless they're really nice or something, and do it for charity.' She cast an appraising eye over him, her eyes clearly saying 'you're not nice'.

Syaoran blushed. 'Who the heck said I couldn't have children?'

'Well you certainly aren't a nic-'

'You two can make your marital plans later. For now, please realise that we _really _need to get rid of this demon.'

The two blushed furiously and leapt apart, not realising until now that they had been practically nose to nose. 'M-marital plans?' Sakura stuttered. 'That is the biggest joke I've ever heard in my whole life,' stated Syaoran in unison, desperately trying to refute Eriol's knowing stare and wondering why he was so red.

The sound of a twig snapping rapidly brought them all back to their senses and they all looked around questioningly. Something was wrong, but they just couldn't pinpoint what it was exactly.

'Huh?' Tomoyo murmured, worried. 'Where did the demon go?'

They all groaned. The demon was gone, and now the enemy would know that they were here.

'But wouldn't the enemy know anyway, seeing as they sent the demons?' Everyone nodded at Eriol's question.

'I don't think so. I think they were on all patrol. Demons usually go in twos, but on missions, they will go in tens'. Once again, the others looked at her, stunned. How could she know something like that?

Seeing their looks, she held out a scroll that she had found in her bag, among the other things that would supposedly come to use. 'I think it's a magic scroll. As soon as we began talking about the demons, this appeared.'

'Whoaa,' breathed Tomoyo. 'Can I ask it something?'

'Sure'. Sakura handed her the scroll.

Tomoyo grabbed it, before screaming at the scroll, 'WHAT THE HECK ARE WE DOING IN THIS PLACE?'

Words began to appear hastily on the scroll, written messily, as if it was in a hurry to comply with Tomoyo's wishes. Smart scroll, thought Eriol wryly, it recognises that Tomoyo is going to build a fire and toss it in should it not give her an answer soon.

By now, the scroll had been covered with words, and Tomoyo read out loud so that they would not have to all look over the scroll in the scarce light.

'There is a prophecy ('there always is', grumbled Syaoran) that the Card mistress, Clow reincarnate, Sword wielder and yet unknown will band together and be sent to the Ruling land to save the four objects that represent balance in good and evil. These four objects were made by a wizard who, just before he died, reincarnated himself into two, created the gems to keep the world in balance in place of him and made the prophecy.'

Tomoyo paused, and they could all see that the scroll was hurriedly writing more. 'You four have been chosen to fulfil the prophecy. The objects are most probably broken, into 7 pieces each. And the force you are against have already obtained 6, not of only one object, however. It'll be hard to find the rest. In fact, there are no clues to where there are. However, when you four train your magic a bit more, you'll be able to sense them. For now, you must find Cereberus, guardian of the Clow Book. You'll find him in the cave that drinks. Follow the river.'

Tomoyo stopped. The scroll's face was wiped clean, and dark lines began to ink their way across the parchment. Fascinated, the four bent over closer and stared at the scroll.

'What's the scroll doing?' Asked Eriol.

'Not sure…' Muttered Syaoran. 'Wait. It looks like…does it look like a map to anyone else?'

They all stared at it. It was clearly a map, with forests, villages, rivers, deserts all highlighted. Tiny writing appeared in the top right hand corner. 'Put your finger on an area you want to know about, and a description will appear.' Tomoyo read out.

Eriol whistled, clearly impressed. 'Useful thing to have around, huh?'

Syaoran nodded, despite himself, before stating in a flat voice, 'I think we should get away from here before we're targeted again.'

Studying the map again, Tomoyo noticed something. 'Hey, I think that's the river we're meant to follow.'

Sakura looked at where Tomoyo was pointing. 'Apparently it's just a ten minute's walk due North from here.' She looked at the rest. 'Anyone got a compass?

Eriol rummaged around in his pockets before drawing out a compass. 'Apprently, yes.'

'Let's go and find a place to camp for tonight. It's,' Syaoran looked at his watch, which he assumed still worked as well as was in sync with this place's time. '…9 o'clock?'

Sure enough, they all looked up to see the small patches of night sky through the trees tops.

They quickly began to all walk in the direction that Sakura set them on, and after ten long minutes of quiet grumbling about 'starving to death' and 'I'm never gonna trust old men again', they reached a wide river.

'This is it?' Eriol mumbled.

'I guess so,' muttered Sakura, peering at the scroll scrutinisingly.

'Hey, isn't that a cave?' Syaoran said out loud, interrupting all their murmurings and mutterings. They all looked up in the direction that Syaoran pointed out. Sure enough, there seemed to be a faint outline of a large cave further down the river.

Without any prompting, they all just ran to it, stumbling and tripping. But they really couldn't care less- all their thought consisted of sleeping, eating, or just plain not walking and fighting anymore. In a messy heap, they all reached the cave.

'Wait,' Eriol called, halting Sakura and Tomoyo, who had made a beeline for the entrance of the cave. 'I think we should get any bugs and spiders out before we go in.'

'How do you propose we do that?' muttered Syaoran grumpily, partly because he was absolutely starving, and also because he wondered why he hadn't thought of that.

Sighing, Eriol took out his key and released it. 'Wind!' he called

A large gust came from nowhere and swept into the cave and carried out with it dust, dirt and a couple of bewildered bugs.

'I was just wondering', said Tomoyo as they all slumped down on the ground of the cave, 'but would you prefer eating first, or sleeping first?'

'Eating,' stated Sakura and Syaoran in unison, before glaring at one another and looking away at the same time.

Stifling a smile, Tomoyo turned to Eriol. 'And you, Eriol-kun?'

'I'd like to eat something too, if that's ok.'

She nodded, and took off her bag, rummaging through. She took out a packet of matches, before standing up. 'I'm going to go collect some firewood,' she explained, when the other three looked up at her with quizzical expressions.

'Oh… then I'll help you,' Eriol offered, standing up and ignoring his tiredness.

'You don't really,' objected Tomoyo weakly, wondering how she could get firewood.

'No, no, I insist,' persisted Eriol. 'Anyway, it's not safe for anyone of us to be alone at anytime. I think we should try to always at least be in pairs. How about Tomoyo-san and I be a pair, and Sakura-san and Li be another pair. Just try to stick together at all times.'

Trying to mask the look of horror on her face, Sakura gritted out, 'Can't we just always be in a group?'

Beside her, Syaoran nodded furiously. 'We can just do everything together, right?'

Eriol sighed. Such an idiot, that guy was. 'No, we can't, Li. Please realise that in a group of four, it's far easier to get caught. A pair is small enough to be subtle, yet then, you have each other, should anything happen.'

'Can't I go with Tomoyo?' pleaded Sakura.

Syaoran's eyes bugged out. 'Don't leave me with that four-eyed freak! I'd rather go with you than that guy!'

They turned to the front of the cave, where Eriol and Tomoyo should've been. But it seemed that sometime during their last exchange the two had slipped out. How mean.

Sakura sighed. 'Nevermind, Li-kun. I'll stay with you. Seeing as you and Eriol would get nothing done if you were assigned to be a pair, anyway.'

Yawning, Syaoran lay down on the smooth, cold floor of the cave. 'Sure, sure. Whatever.'

Also yawning, Sakura suddenly realised how tired she really was, and laid down where she was. They just laid there for a while, reflecting on all the random events of the day. Then, just as Syaoran felt his eyelids drooping, he heard Sakura say out loud, 'G'night, Li-kun'. She waited for him to respond, but there was none.

She sighed and turned over to her side, facing away from Syaoran. Slowly, her breathing became deep and steady.

Waiting until she was definitely asleep, Syaoran turned over and looked at Sakura's back. 'Good night', he whispered. Then, he too, closed his eyes and fell asleep.

And outside, Tomoyo and Eriol peeked in, arms full of firewood, and grinned at the sight of Syaoran and Sakura sleeping peacefully.

Author's Note: So was this good? Did it have any mistakes? I proofread it the best I could, but I know that there are bound to be mistakes somewhere in it. I hope that the story is to all your likings, and that you will critically examine it. Reviews are sincerely thanked for, and if you don't review, I don't mind. I just hope you like this story.


End file.
